Maya Ibuki, Evangelion Pilot
by LegendaryS
Summary: A retread of an old fanfic. An age flip in which adult characters become children and vice versa, and what this might mean in the overall Evangelion universe. OCs are included but every Eva char WILL show up and influence the plot significantly.
1. In which Maya arrives

**In which Maya arrives**

All right, so. A long time ago I wrote a 40+ chapter epic that was somewhat popular but ultimately fell apart. This was tragic. To correct this horrible tragedy I am going to start up again. However, the old fic is abandoned.

For starters, who will remember forty chapters after like a year of absence? That's crazy. So we will begin again, with a few rewrites here and there, as a nice refresher course for the old fans (if there are any left) and a good jumping on point for the new fans (who will hopefully be less intimidated by ONE chapter). Here we go! Chapter One, begin!

_"It wasn't a dark and stormy night. It should have been..." - Good Omens, by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett_

The train pulled into the station, and a lone girl got off of it. Any observer would have said for certain that she was the only one on the platform, let alone disembarking. But there were no observers. No one was present for several miles.

It wasn't that the train station was abandoned, for indeed it was well-maintained. The rails still glistened in the sun, vending machines were lined up and fully-stocked, the displays above the platform announced the state of emergency in bright red lettering.

Maya Ibuki didn't like this state of affairs at all. Pushing back a few bangs of brown hair, and straightening her uniform just in case someone was watching, she left the station, looking around nervously. She didn't even think she heard any birds.

"Hello?" she called out at the front doors. Nothing.

After a minute of absolute silence, she shuddered slightly and began a mad dash to the parking lot. Several cars sat, abandoned. Maya looked in each window, but saw no one. Still there was silence, excepting her feet, the sound of her bag bouncing against her, and her breathing, which was slowly picking up speed.

After she'd thoroughly inspected each and every car, she angrily pulled out a letter from her bag. With care, she unfolded it and began to read it aloud. Her voice was soft, perhaps because she always spoke that way, perhaps because of fear that being loud would attract too much attention. There wasn't any visible danger, but isolation was a human fear that Maya had not moved beyond.

"Ibuki Maya, your presence in Tokyo-3 on the date of July 11th is requested by the Japanese government. Failure to appear will result in your arrest. Enclosed is a train ticket, with the time and station of boarding printed upon it. Transportation beyond the rail network will be arranged. Nerv Headquarters."

A ticket had been enclosed, and she'd used it to get this far. Now what? Transport should be here, or at least, the letter implied it would be (it didn't technically say when it was arranged, Maya had to admit), but there was no reason to suspect that Nerv would simply abandon her. She decided that the state of emergency must have affected them too, which meant obvious trouble.

Uncertainly, Maya left the parking lot, hesitating for a moment at the sidewalk before she remembered which direction Tokyo-3 was. The railway lines didn't even go as far as it; she was in another city, though she wasn't sure which. The ticket had been unlabeled, and the station made no announcements.

"I've got a long walk ahead of me," she said as happily as she could. "At least I wore tennis shoes." So she began to walk towards the sun, which was slowly approaching sunset.

**4158:09:19**

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><p>The letter had arrived at five o'clock on the first of July, and though Maya didn't realize it, it was effectively a countdown until the end of the world. Two hundred and sixty-seven hours exactly until an Angel arrived. Four thousand, three hundred and ninety-nine hours remained before it was all over.<p>

Six minutes after the letter was placed in the mailbox, Maya's grandmother retrieved it and all the rest of the post, and went to put them on the kitchen table. She sighed to herself, because even though Maya had been privileged enough to not know her own destiny, the family had known from the day Maya's mother had abandoned her on their doorstep.

The old woman looked at her husband. "It's time," she said sadly. He nodded, and the two of them left the kitchen and knocked on Maya's bedroom door.

She opened it and bowed politely. "Is it dinner already?" she asked. "It's barely after five..."

"No dear," her grandmother replied. "You received some very important mail. We thought you should take a look at it."

Maya left her room and slid the door shut, looking quizzically at both of her grandparents. She didn't often receive mail; it was expensive and the internet was usually faster. Slowly, Maya walked into the kitchen, both of her grandparents following. She wondered how important this mail was that her family would behave so oddly.

The kitchen was a small one, square one, with barely enough room for the table, some counters, a sink, and the oven. Despite this, Maya's grandmother had found a way to personalize it by hanging photos on the small amount of wall space available, most of them of the family. Maya's deceased mother was the subject of many of the photographs, well over half of them.

Maya had asked why once, when she'd been very small. Her grandfather had frowned for a moment, and then said simply, "Death isn't the sort of thing you can ever forget." Every house Maya visited showed evidence of this. Small shrines were erected to family members or friends, most of whom had died fifteen years ago, on the same day. It was as if every home was at least part-graveyard.

The letter sat on top of the pile, menacing in its own right. Maya fumbled for a moment with the envelope and finally tore it open. Its contents fell to the table. Maya read them.

"What?" she asked very silently. "They want me to go to Tokyo-3? Why?"

She turned, but neither grandparent answered. Over the next week and a half, despite Maya's pesterings, they wouldn't. But they did make it clear she had to go, and helped her pack. They even threw a going-away party, which Maya's few friends attended, crying. She'd said her goodbyes, and set out. The train ride had been a pleasant if lonely one; no conductor nor passenger were in sight after Maya boarded. The arrival was perhaps less enjoyable.

**4158:19:14**

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><p>Half an hour of walking later, with the sun now harshly illuminating the towers of the nearby (but so far away) city, Maya discovered that her strategy had several flaws. She had barely gotten anywhere, it was entirely possible her ride had shown up late, and while she wasn't tired, the constant paranoia over the situation was beginning to drive her nuts. She hadn't seen a single person along the road, nor heard them. The only sound were her footsteps on the hot concrete of the roadway.<p>

But then Maya heard the first noise that she hadn't caused herself. Above her, several airplanes flew by in close formation. They looked military, and moved faster than any plane Maya had ever seen. Because of that, soon they were out of hearing range, and loneliness settled back in.

"This is ridiculous," Maya said shortly thereafter, to keep the silence at bay. "What on Earth could have caused an entire city to be evacuated for half an hour? If it was so bad, surely the city would be destroyed by now!"

The silence seemed all the louder for her talking. Maya gulped again, and decided that talking probably would just make her feel worse, so she fell silent, choosing to shield her eyes and face from the sunset instead.

After another half hour, she spoke again. "Come on…" she muttered to herself. "There's nothing to be scared of. It's just-" She paused and swung around suddenly, convinced she'd just heard something.

A boy stood a few meters away, watching her coldly and intently. He had dark hair that nearly went down to his eyes and wore strange glasses, both of which made it feel as though he were staring at her. He reached out his hand, slowly. Maya took a step towards him, but blinked.

No one stood there once her eyes were open. The streets were empty and it seemed they always had been. Maya briefly considered the possibility that she'd just gone crazy, hallucinating human company out of loneliness. But that was ridiculous. She'd only been alone for most of the day.

"This place is creepy," she decided finally, shaking her head. She turned around again and kept going, though she stopped every few steps to look all around her. Desolate. Not even the cicadas were out today.

Finally, she saw something reassuring. A car was zooming down the streets, coming in her direction. She smiled and waved. The car stopped beside her and the door opened. "Ibuki?" the driver asked, smiling.

Maya nodded to the driver, a brunette with blue eyes. She wore a simple red uniform and cap, and she smiled quite warmly. "I'm Captain Soryu," she said. "Our planes spotted you, so I came here as quickly as I could." She laughed a little, embarrassed. Her face seemed perfect, soft but with a sharp bone structure.

"It took you over an hour!" Maya replied, completely disbelieving.

Soryu shrugged. "It took me awhile to get here, okay? I was supposed to arrive here the same time you were, but my train got a bit waylaid." She reached into a purse on her other side and pulled out an ID card. "Here," she said. "So you know that I am who I say I am."

Maya sighed as they accelerated off. The Captain clearly had no conception of speed limits or, if she did, didn't feel the need to pay attention to them while the roads were this abandoned.

"What's going on?" Maya asked. "Why is the city so empty?"

Soryu darkened. "An Angel attacked today," she said. "The city has been evacuated because of it. We need to hurry."

Maya couldn't think of anything to say. An Angel. She could practically imagine the public service announcements in her head.

"Fifteen years ago, we were attacked via asteroid by an alien race," the announcer would say, "dubbed "Angels" for their catastrophic power. For seven years, we worked on recovering. But now, we are preparing for defense." That would be about the time that the Nerv logo would appear. "The best and the brightest of mankind from over a dozen nations, united together to save mankind." Then there'd be some videos of Nerv employees, all smiling and wonderful. "But they need *your* help. Join Nerv today!" Then finally, a picture of some guy would be displayed, the commander of Nerv or something.

The whole thing was stupid and badly written, but that's how all PSAs were, Maya thought. Propaganda at best, maybe.

"Do you know why you were called here?" Soryu asked after a few minutes of silence.

"No, ma'am." Maya didn't look at her, preferring the window instead. Captain Soryu was pretty (Maya felt rather envious of her overall appearance, which was far more exceptional than her own. Maya, fourteen, was definitely growing up, but her face still looked like a child) but it would be rude to stare.

Soryu didn't say anything for a while after that. Maya recognized it as the silence that came when adults had to say something that would be hard to take but didn't want to hurt the "kid" they were talking to. When she finally spoke up, her words were simply, "You're going to be doing a great service to mankind."

Maya knew that didn't bode well.

**4156:54:27**

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><p>Others might have been amazed when they entered the Geofront, but Maya wasn't. Again, all that came to mind were the public service announcements and brochures encouraging people to sign up. The Nerv pyramid was practically on the US dollar bill. She had to admit though; it was impressive they'd dug this out in just eight years.<p>

Captain Soryu smiled at her as the car was let off the rails and into a parking garage. "We'll be at the meet-up point in no time."

"Meet-up?" Maya asked, still uncertain of what the actual plan was or the reason she'd been called here. She didn't have anything to do with the military.

"Yes. You're going to be meeting Commander Ikari, the man who runs Nerv."

"Wow…" Maya tried to sound enthused, but really couldn't muster anything.

"Yeah, you're pretty lucky!" Soryu exclaimed, completely fooled by Maya's transparent statements. "Not every kid gets this chance, you know!"

'That wasn't the kind of 'wow' I meant', Maya thought bitterly.

The rest of the ride was spent in silence, again. Somehow neither could find a good conversational topic to stick on, so Soryu compensated by blaring the radio instead. Maya was relieved when they got to the underground garage, but less so when they began their hike into the facility. Every hallway was gray and uniform, with English and Japanese signs littered across them, unhelpfully pointing in a thousand locations at once. Worse, the captain was navigating randomly at best, turning left, right, randomly turning back the way they went... It was like being in a maze.

"We're lost, aren't we?" Maya asked as they went down a set of stairs and found themselves back in the parking garage.

"This doesn't make sense!" the captain said angrily. "We haven't gone UP at any point!"

"Some of those hallways were sloped," Maya noted.

"Still!" Captain Soryu looked around accusingly at the garage around them before she saw something that interested her. "Ah! An elevator! We'll take that!" She grabbed Maya by the arm and pulled her to it.

When the doors opened, a blue-haired woman of about the captain's age wearing a lab coat was standing in the elevator. Her eyes widened when she saw Captain Soryu, but quickly returned to a dull look, staring ahead at the two lost individuals in front of her. She seemed bored, almost.

"Rei!" Soryu shouted. "I haven't seen you in forever!" She let go of Maya and embraced the other woman ecstatically. "How are you?"

Rei smiled very slightly, though Maya noticed that none of her other expressions changed. The smile itself seemed thin and perhaps slightly forced. "I am well. I did not know you were transferred here."

Maya joined the two women in the elevator and pressed the "Close" button, standing awkwardly between them as they chatted. She wasn't sure if she should contribute to the conversation, or simply remain silent. Reunions were uncomfortable. She decided ultimately just to shut up.

"Oh, yeah. Well, Shinji-sensei requested me." Maya wondered who Soryu was talking about, but didn't ask. Presumably a higher-up of some sort.

Rei's eyebrows rose. "I didn't know… but…" she sighed. "He seems to have gotten everyone from that class here." She smiled again, just as slight. "I'm sure we will work together well."

The elevator doors opened, leading Maya into a new life.

**4156:30:46**


	2. In which Maya does a lot of thinking

**In which Maya does a lot of thinking**

_"I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth-men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air-for I am grieved that I have made them." - The LORD, Book of Genesis, Author Disputed_

Deep in the bowels of Nerv, a collection of rooms stood, each housing or ready to house one of Nerv's top secret weapons. The expense in building the facility paled in comparison to the construction of even one of the humanoid robots they kept, not merely in money but in manhours, and typically lives. Building a single Evangelion (as they were called) was a dangerous job and the machines used in the process were in a constant state of disrepair. Accidents happened. They were expected.

With a dangerous threat approaching the city, accidents were risked again as a group of men had been called in to bring one into full working order. A simple room, metallic with a bit of rust, usually empty save for the storage container for the robot in question (a giant basin filled with a pink liquid), was now covered in wires running in every direction, and filled with workmen in orange jumpsuits. They were running out of time.

Keita Asari, one such worked, turned when the doors opened and a girl walked in, her mouth open in shock. He chuckled to himself, well aware that the Evangelion models surprised everyone the first time around. He almost turned back to the open hatch in Eva-01's armor (Eva-01 being the designation of this particular model), but two more people walked out of the elevator. One; his boss Dr. Ayanami, didn't surprise him at all. The other did.

"Asuka?" he said softly. "I haven't seen you since school."

He very nearly waved to her, but changed his mind at the last minute. She probably would barely recognize him in the uniform, and he was standing on the shoulder of a giant robot… This time his attention did return to the beast. Copper-plated wires (and a few other things that were shaped like wires, but didn't seem metallic at all) ran up and down the arm, and a few had been broken.

He remembered Dr. Ayanami's exact words for how quickly they needed fixing. "An hour ago."

Grumbling, he pulled the replacement wires out of his toolkit and began running them through. Why the hell hadn't the regular status reports picked this glitch up until now? They'd just run a diagnostic yesterday, and the equipment had worked fine on Eva-00.

"You are the one who will be piloting it," he heard Dr. Ayanami say, and once he'd finished threading in the last wire, he turned his attention to the three women. Most everyone else already had.

"What?" Asuka was shouting. "That's insane! She just got here!"

"No," Dr. Ayanami responded. "It is merely unlucky. We had no idea that an would be arriving today. Our initial plans were nothing more than a few simple start-up tests; perfectly normal in every way."

The captain scoffed in response. "Well since combat's arrived plans have changed, wouldn't you say? Don't you have a back-up pilot?" She moved in between the pilot and Rei, protectively.

Maya opened her mouth to speak.

**4156:26:44**

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><p>"This is why you wanted me?" Maya couldn't believe it. Why would they want a fourteen-year old girl to pilot a giant robot? It didn't make any sense! "You... you didn't even ask!"<p>

The captain looked down. "They wouldn't have needed to," Asuka explained. She began to recite something one of their teachers had told them about long ago. "The Diet of Japan voted unanimously in December of 2003 to give Nerv the power to take all necessary measures to repel any Angelic attack against the forces of Earth."

Neither of them noticed, but Keita was mouthing the words along with her. Their teacher had not been happy at all with that particular resolution. He'd drawn a few historic parallels, but few students had paid him any attention, arguing that to stop attacks Nerv - or rather Gehirn, as it was known in those days - would need all the power it could get.

The future pilot said nothing. She just looked away.

"Please get in," Dr. Ayanami said, stepping forward and pushing Asuka out of the way. "Believe me, it's for the best."

Maya shook her head. "I don't know how to pilot any kind of robots," she said. "You can't just put me in the cockpit and expect me to figure out how to make the thing work." She laughed nervously. "There's probably dozens of switches and buttons, aren't there?"

Rei opened her mouth to respond to this, but stopped, hearing footsteps echoing above them. She turned upwards, as did everyone else. Above the Cage that held the Evangelion was a small room for observation purposes, and someone had entered. The man's face appeared in the window; the face of the commander of Nerv, Shinji Ikari.

Everyone stared up at him, and he scanned the room silently. The commander looked down at Asuka for a moment, who smiled slightly, and then Rei, who smiled quite broadly, but finally his eyes settled on the teenage girl. She looked back, frightened but refusing to look away.

Shinji gulped, but he spoke calmly and firmly. "Welcome to Nerv," he said, almost brightly. Maya said nothing in response, preferring to glare instead. Commander Ikari sighed. "I'm not going to lie to you, Ibuki-san. We are asking a lot of you, asking for you to pilot," he said. "And for that I do apologize. But we're not going to force you."

"So I can go then?" the girl asked, her eyes widening happily. This whole day had been so strange that it was a relief to hear that the weirdness might end momentarily. It wasn't so simple, of course.

"Yes, you could. But," Ikari-sensei said quickly, for Maya had already turned to leave, "That won't do you any good... We only have one other. Because of circumstances unrelated to today, he's heavily injured. My best doctors say he'd die in about five minutes without the intensive care he's currently hooked up to."

Maya hesitated, but didn't say anything. Asuka looked at Rei, mouthing the words "He'd die?" in shock.

Shinji kept going. She hadn't left so far, so perhaps this was going to work. "Ibuki-san, if the Angel gets into the Geofront, we've lost. He'll kill everyone here, and shortly thereafter everyone on planet Earth. You're the only chance we have."

The girl turned to Asuka, who tried to smile but failed. She just looked guilty, or perhaps regretful. "It's true," Asuka said sadly. "He isn't lying. If you don't do this, we're all going to die." She looked back to the commander, uncertain, but Maya had already turned her head up as well.

"Fine. I'll do it," Maya replied.

Several people grinned. A huge problem with the Evangelion was fixed. Eva-01 finally had a pilot.

**4156:21:29**

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><p>Asuka walked into the Command Center. "Is she really our only chance?" she asked Rei. "I know I told her that but is that really true?"<p>

"You did the right thing," Rei assured her. "That's all that matters."

Asuka looked around. The room was immense, multi-leveled, and shaped like a battleship. Most of it was clearly dedicated to computers; the lowest level was a morass of immense wires and fans. Only a few levels were even occupied.

Strangely, she knew everyone in the room. Former classmates Aida, Suzuhara, and Horaki sat on the top level where she and Rei stood, typing away at computers. Kotonoha sat on a lower level, speaking into a headset. Matsuda and Idane sat by an open hatch, fixing something. Even Nakada worked for Nerv HQ, though all Asuka got of her was her voice over the intercom.

"LCL now cooled to human optimal temperature. Pumps 1, 2, and 4 operating at normal capacity."

Asuka stared in silence.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Rei asked. "He's managed to assemble nearly all of us into Nerv HQ."

"Not everyone," Asuka said, thinking back to the class list.

"Someone else is arriving in a couple of months, and not everyone works up here." Rei chuckled awkwardly, trying to deflect Asuka's train of thought.

"We'll still be one person short," Asuka said sadly. "You know who I mean."

Rei shrugged. "Anyways, this is Tactical. Your desk is over there." She nodded to one side of the room. "Everything you requested."

"How long until the Angel arrives?" Asuka asked, her voice trembling. This was it, she realized. The greatest threat to humanity was slowly approacing them. Everything depended upon destroying it as quickly as possible. No amount of training could have prepared her for this, and she would do nothing but give orders.

"Ten minutes. We'll have her launched before then."

Asuka walked to the edge of her level. She was vaguely aware of Suzuhara and Horaki waving, but she didn't wave back. Instead, she stared at the immense displays. There were topographical, infrared, radar…. But most impressive of all was the television screen that was alternating between at least seventeen camera views, all of which featured the Angel.

"This is much better than what we have at Nerv-03," she said.

"Hamburg doesn't need this equipment," Rei responded. "The Angels will attack here, and only here. Germany is safe."

"They attacked Antarctica," Asuka whispered.

"It's gone now," Rei responded coolly. She stepped forward to one of the displays and examined it for a moment. "This is the last line of defense for all mankind. If we fail, everyone dies."

Asuka couldn't think of anything to say in response to that.

**4156:08:55**

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><p>Maya entered the cockpit (called the Entry Plug by the Nerv officials) and looked around. She felt cramped by all the machinery around her, but managed to get into the seat towards the bottom. Here things were much more open. She took a deep breath and buckled herself in. "This is it…" she whispered.<p>

She looked around the "Entry Plug". The vast majority was simply the seat, but in front of her sat several holographic displays. One suddenly flickered on, revealing the face of a simple-looking woman about Soryu and Rei's age.

"Hi. I'm Horaki Hikari!" she announced brightly. "I'll help you get everything set up."

"Th- thanks." Maya stared blankly, feeling overwhelmed by everything that had just happened.

"So, you should know that each Entry Plug is filled with LCL. It oxygenates your blood stream, which is important in an emergency, and also acts as a cushion for high speed stuff. It should start filling in now. Don't panic, you'll be fine."

Maya watched as two pipes in the bottom of plug opened up and began spewing an orange liquid. It made her want to throw up, but she couldn't get away; the top of the cockpit had been sealed above her.

"Good," Horaki said when the entire plug filled up. "Now we'll be moving you onto the lift." Maya felt the Evangelion shake beneath her feet as it was conveyed somewhere. "And now you'll be going up."

When Maya felt capable of conscious thought after she "went up", she came to the conclusion that if there hadn't been any LCL in the plug, she would have been smushed like an insect against the windshield. Now she very nearly threw up again, out of sheer disorientation.

"Sorry about that," she heard Captain Soryu say. "Okay, it's time for the real challenge."

"Think about taking a step forward. Do everything except actually move," Rei offered.

'Oh, those are wonderful instructions,' Maya thought bitterly, looking ahead of her. Instead of the rusting cage, she was now looking out at the city streets of Tokyo-3, which had been darkened by the passing of sunset. No lights were on in the city. 'Do everything except actually move. That's what I'm doing right now…' She focused as hard as she could, and still this "Eva-01" wasn't moving.

"Come on," she whispered. "There has to be a way to make this work…"

Unbidden, an image of Eva-01 lifting its right leg and stepping forward appeared in her mind. She focused on it as hard as she could, and felt the sudden shift as Eva-01's leg really lifted and moved forward.

'It would be really bad if I thought about this thing tripp-'

The problem with unbidden images, Maya felt, was that they came and went as they pleased. Lifting her head up, she saw the holographic image of the captain and the doctor sighing in disbelief. And then they looked scared.

"The Angel is approaching!" she heard Horaki shout. "Get that Evangelion up, and get it up now!"

Maya imagined the Evangelion pushing itself up, and practically felt the resistance of the concrete roads below her in her own arms. Slowly, the Evangelion followed her mental picture into a standing position.

That left the problem of the Angel. Carefully, Maya swung the Evangelion around, holding tightly to the two handles that controlled… Maya wasn't sure what they controlled. It wasn't as if they exactly made the arms move. She did that without their help.

Down the street a little ways was the Angel.

The first thing Maya thought when she thought it was, 'That shouldn't exist.'

**4156:00:00**


	3. In which an Angel is defeated

**In which an Angel is defeated**

_"And so it begins." - Kosh, Babylon 5, by J. Michael Straczynski_

The "Angel" was hideous. Four thin, spindly legs stretched out over several blocks. The one closest to Maya, only a couple of meters away, thinned to an impossible point, a "foot" that had no business holding anything up, let alone a beast as massive as this. The foot lifted up, and Maya could see with shock that it had torn through the concrete.

Then the body of the beast came into view. It was a hemispheroid, roughly, but constantly bits of flesh bubbled along the surface, some occasionally popping and releasing some strange red gas. The worst bit though was the eyes. Yellow, but with blue irises, they looked more painted on at first. But as Maya squinted, they seemed to jump out at her as if they were real eyes, ready to pop out of their sockets. If Maya didn't know better, she would have thought they were both painted AND real.

This, really, was all the more reason that such a thing shouldn't be allowed to exist at all, and had Maya been the violent sort, she might have just charged it then, to kill it in the hopes that everything that seemed so horribly wrong would go away.

In reality, though, she was just scared.

It didn't even matter to her that she was in a giant robot. If she'd thought about that, she would have just found her circumstances all the more ridiculous. How would a purple machine of any level of gargantuan proportions make the least bit of difference against something this hideous? More importantly, what did they expect of her? She didn't have any training at all!

Try as she might to get a hold of herself, she couldn't. All she could see was the giant robot being torn apart in her mind's eye. She tried desperately to get the robot to move, thinking to grab one of the thin legs and pull the creature down, but all that happened was that the robot took a step backwards.

Maya couldn't blame it.

"Do something!" she heard Asuka shout. "Please!"

She couldn't. She just couldn't.

It didn't help that, shortly after that, one of the monomolecular blade-legs of the Angel stabbed right into the robot's forehead, because the pain Maya felt in her own forehead rather distracted her from more pressing issues.

**4155:50:21**

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><p>Asuka looked at her apartment despairingly. The entry hall was cramped, the living room was cramped, the kitchen was cramped, the bedrooms were cramped... It was cramped. "Really, Rei? This is what you guys consider a mansion?" Asuka couldn't believe HQ had assured her that her quarters would be some of the largest available to employees. What did the lieutenants stay in? Cardboard boxes?<p>

"It's big enough for someone who is living alone," Rei said, carrying several boxes and depositing them on the kitchen table.

"It's an apartment with three bedrooms and a bath! What says mansion about that? There's only one kitchen and there aren't any servants to clean up after me!"

"You want a servant?" Rei asked disbelievingly.

Asuka put the box she was carrying down on the table next to the rest of the pile. "Geez Rei, I'm kidding a little. I mean, I did get told it was a mansion, but… This'll do. Lighten up. We lived together for four years; you could take a joke then."

"That was in college," Rei responded. "We're not really roommates any more, you know."

Asuka frowned. "So what?" she said. "What's changed?"

"Your hair was red then," Rei said, smiling a little to herself. "Isn't that change enough, when you think about it for awhile?" She went to the kitchen, produced a knife, and returned to start cutting the tape open on the boxes.

"So now I'm not allowed to make a couple changes?" Asuka glared at her old friend, no longer feeling so jovial.

Rei silently dug through a few of the boxes before pulling two from the pile and lifting them up. "It's not changes in general I mind, you know. Anyway, I can set up your hair for you if you like."

"I like my hair this way!" Asuka shouted. "Red just looks weird to me lately!"

"Whatever. Should I hook up the TV or not?"

"No! I can do it myself!"

"Previous experience suggests otherwise," Rei muttered, looking at the tangled mess of wires that Asuka had shoved into one box. "I believe that one of these was torn from a toaster."

"I don't need someone who can't even support my new hair color plugging things in for me!"

Rei decided to be reasonable. "It's just that color I'm against, you know. Why don't you try blonde? Or blue, like mine? We could match. It would be fun..."

"What's wrong with this color, then?" Asuka asked. "It's just a normal one, sure, but I don't really need to die my hair magenta to look good..."

"It makes you look pathetic."

Asuka shook her head. "It's pointless having these talks with you," she commented. "You're never willing to see anyone else's point of view."

Rei said nothing to that, instead just plugging in the cords to Asuka's small TV. She stuck around a little bit after that to help with the rest of the heavier lifting, but departed without much else said.

**4141:41:41**

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><p>Maya opened her eyes. The pain was gone. So was the robot. Someone had moved her into a hospital room. A rather bright hospital room. Maya shut her eyes again, though the image of the sparsely decorated room burned in her retinas. It was small and cramped, with only enough room for one visitor at a time at best.<p>

"Ugh…" she muttered. "I thought everyone was going to die if I didn't win."

A few minutes later, the light stopped burning through her eyelids, and she opened them and sat up. "Last time I trust that guy..." she muttered. She turned to the nightstand on her right and started. Sitting in a chair was "that guy". What had they called him? Commander Ikari? "Uh…. Hi."

He nodded, smiling.

"Uh… I'm not dead. I thought you said…" Then, the memory clicked. "You never said I had to kill it, did you? You said…"

"I said I wasn't going to lie, and I'm not going to start now." The commander leaned in conspiratorially. "We desperately hoped that you would find it possible to fight that thing unaided, but I understand that you were frightened. That's why there was always a back-up plan, but it was a back-up plan that still required you to be inside the robot. It's called Evangelion, by the way." He chuckled.

"Why did you need me to be inside it?" Maya asked, looking at the man with confusion.

"It's complicated..." Ikari hesitated just long enough that Maya wondered if he was really having difficulty explaining or if he was just looking for the words. "The best way to explain it is that the Evangelion used a human mind for intelligence, and used your desire to live as a motivator. There's a lot of stuff about electromagnetism in there somewhere that I don't understand, but that's a good and reasonably accurate way of putting it."

Maya nodded. Artificial intelligences were still a few years off, according to one of her teachers (her old teachers? Was she to stay here now?), but most advanced tech companies and governments could get almost the same thing by "borrowing" the brains of real people.

"Um… sir?" No point in waiting to find out... "Am I going to have to stay here?"

"You could leave, if you insisted. But that would still leave us with the problem of having one other pilot, who is heavily injured." Shinji looked down. "Poor kid..."

Maya paled. "I forgot about him. When will he recover?"

"We hope that he'll be better in less than a month, but it is hard to be sure," Commander Ikari admitted. "Would you like to see him? He's staying in this hospital."

"Uh…" Maya gulped. "I guess," she muttered. "I mean, if I stay, I'm going to have to get to know him pretty well, aren't I?" She wondered what he was like. Just a normal kid like her, or someone actually trained for this position? And then there was personality? Outgoing? Quiet? Hopefully not rude...

"I would assume so," the commander agreed.

Maya pulled herself out of bed. Despite what she'd expected, it wasn't difficult at all. She wondered why she was in a hospital when she didn't have a single injury on her. She thought it might be weird to ask, though, so she merely let her superior officer lead her to the room next door.

Like her room, there was only one bed, and lying in it was a dark-haired boy, hooked up to, among other things, an IV, a breathing apparatus, and a heart monitor. Several limbs were in casts. Maya could barely stand to look at him at first, but then she recognized him.

'I saw him yesterday…' she thought. "What happened to him?" Before Shinji could answer, she added quickly, "What's his name?"

"Rokubungi Gendo. He's a relative of mine, though I'm not quite sure exactly how." Commander Ikari chuckled briefly, and then continued. "As for what happened to him… Let's just say there was a malfunction in our Test Type unit, Eva-00."

Maya paled. "A malfunction?"

"Its AI turned on and attempted to attack the facility. You're at no risk; your Eva won't do that. He was injured when we pulled him out," the commander explained.

"How do you know my Evangelion won't do that?" Maya asked, looking from the boy to the commander in concern. Would that happen to her? Was that all they'd been banking on? Had the AI in the robot just turned on and attacked the Angel first, giving them enough time to figure out how to turn it off?

"Do you want to destroy this facility?" Ikari asked.

Maya was silent for a moment, shocked at the question. "No. I can't think of any reason to..."

"Then why would the Evangelion's AI?"

**4141:23:10**

* * *

><p>Maya sat down at the waiting area by the front desk. Shinji had led her here and then excused himself quietly while some secretary had handed her a bunch of forms to fill out. Many, Maya noticed, had already been contributed to by her grandparents and were dated the seventh of July. 'They knew about this five days ago,' she thought angrily, 'and didn't see fit to tell me.' She sat down on one of the brown, uncomfortable chairs, and began to go through them.<p>

Most of the forms were medical, but that wasn't a problem. Maya had never had any major illnesses and hadn't been born with even a single allergy. The rest were consent forms, which seemed a little unnecessary now. However, these too were back-dated. Even the spaces by where Maya's signature were required had already been dated the seventh. How convenient for Nerv.

She finished and handed in the forms, and was directed to wait until Doctor Ayanami arrived. She did so, counting the people entering and leaving the hospital idly. When the doctor finally arrived, Maya was no longer disoriented, and not in a particularly good mood.

"So I filled out the forms half an hour ago," Maya said.

Rei nodded. "Good," she said. "I hope it wasn't too much trouble." She smiled, revealing a set of perfectly white teeth, and continued. "Of course, as your grandparents contributed so much to the forms, I'm sure that you probably only had to supply your own signature a few times."

"Someone else helpfully dated the papers for me," Maya added.

The doctor adjusted her lab coat, unbuttoning the top button, but continued smiling. "I'm glad someone took the time to keep your effort as minimal as possible," Rei replied. "You're a pilot now, and have other things to worry about. I myself am going to lay down the ground rules now, so we're perfectly clear on everything. Would you like to do that here, or in my office?"

"Here's fine."

"All right then." Doctor Ayanami sat down in a chair next to Maya's and crossed her legs. "We have of course arranged for all the usual things for you. An apartment (here's the key)," she slipped a small envelope into Maya's hands, "enrollment at the local middle school, a small bank account for your payments to be deposited into, those sorts of things." Rei raised an eyebrow when Maya didn't react to the word 'payment.'

"Yes, Ms. Ibuki, we are paying you. The money should account for living expenses and leave you with enough for petty cash and the reserves for the occasional emergency. Not that you'll be having any major ones, of course. If your apartment is destroyed, you will receive another one free, and your medical is paid for by the government as well."

The doctor uncrossed her legs and ran her hand along one, smoothing out the bumps along the fabric. "You will attend school regularly, but afterwards you will be joining us here in the facility to train in Evangelion Unit 01. There will always be a dinner break, but training has no set schedule and can last as long or as little as we feel like."

Her smile broadened, looking all the more fake. "Do you understand?"

Maya nodded uncertainly.

"Excellent. Then tomorrow we may begin. In the meantime, you are excused to your apartment or anywhere else in the city, to do as you please." Rei rose. "Goodbye." She left almost immediately.

Maya stared, and then shook her head. "Thanks for the welcome..." Quietly, she opened the envelope, and a key and a piece of paper with an address on it fell out. She rose, and set out.

**4140:16:28**

* * *

><p>In the bowels of Nerv, the command center continued to operate, analyzing every facet of the previous night's battle. In a brief moment of respite, one of the lieutenants, the athletic, dark-haired Toji Suzuhara, turned to another working nearby, the more nerdy, sandy-haired Kensuke Aida. "So… in one day, we get attacked by an Angel, and Asuka shows up… Think it's just a coincidence?" he asked, jokingly.<p>

Kensuke rolled his eyes. "Just because you couldn't get a date with her in college doesn't mean she's an enemy, you know."

Toji grumbled and turned back to the console. "So. One day, one battle, and let's see… We've got three dozen roads that need to be repaired, Eva-01 is missing an eye where the Angel stabbe-" He stopped as the third lieutenant who worked on the upper portions of the bridge, Hikari Horaki walked by and interrupted.

"No, it isn't." Both of her associates turned to her in surprise. She continued talking while slowly pulling her own brown hair up. "All ocular damage was repaired overnight. We still don't know why." She sighed and fussed with the khaki uniforms all Nerv employees wore. Hers always felt a little too tight. "Our scientists think that maybe the wires there successfully retracted.

"Freaky..." Toji laughed a little nervously. "Well, at least that's some good news. We won't have to spend too much time on repairs for Eva-01."

"No," Kensuke reminded Toji. "Eva-01 lost its head as well, so we still have ridiculous amounts of work to do."

Toji sighed. "Plus, one of our pilots is in the hospital and the other one ended up there last night before doing any damage." He returned his attention to the console. "If we keep taking damage like this, we're screwed."

Kensuke and Hikari didn't say anything in response. They'd already worked that out for themselves.

**4140:05:13**


	4. In which Maya and Asuka meet new people

**In which Maya and Asuka meet new people**

_"A cruel story runs on wheels, and every hand oils the wheels as they run." - Ouida_

"Argh! Nothing in this place works!"

That was an exaggeration, but only a slight one. The toaster was one of many appliances in Maya's new apartment slowly conspiring to ensure she'd be running late. She felt tempted to throw it out the window, but even that slight deviation from her schedule would make her late at this point, so she let it be. "It wouldn't be so bad if the shower had been hot," she grumbled.

Maya covered her unheated bread in peanut butter, grabbed her bag, and dashed out the front door. The school wasn't too far away, so Maya got there before she'd even finished eating. Several dozen students were hanging around outside the front door, but no one paid her any attention as she walked by them.

She started rifling through her bag. When she'd arrived at her apartment yesterday several papers had been on the dining room table, and one had discussed her school situation a little more thoroughly than Doctor Ayanami had. "You will join Class 2-A. Akagi Ritsuko is Class Representative and will help you settle in." She nodded to herself and found the class quickly.

Half a dozen people were already sitting at their desks, but only one of them noticed her, a blond. "Can I help you?" she asked, stepping up to Maya with a friendly smile on her face.

"Uh, yeah. I'm looking for Akagi Ritsuko..." Maya looked at the girl awkwardly and adjusted the shoulder strap of her bag.

"That's me," the other girl said brightly. "Are you the new student? Ikari Maya, right?"

"Uh, no... I'm Ibuki. Ibuki Maya. It's nice to meet you." Maya bowed quickly.

"Oh. Sorry." The class representative blushed slightly, embarrassed at her own mistake. "It's nice to meet you too." Ritsuko bowed in response. Maya was glad when she looked back up; bowing hid Ritsuko's face and most especially her eyes, which were a lovely shade of green.

"Where should I sit?" Maya asked.

Ritsuko pointed out a desk. "That one's been empty for awhile," she offered. "I don't think Kobayashi-san is going to be coming back. I heard his dad got fired from Nerv."

The pilot walked over to the empty seat and started putting her stuff in the desk, and was surprised to discover a laptop in the compartment. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "Is there some way to get this back to-"

"You misunderstand. Every student has a laptop here. It's for school use." Ritsuko was chuckling a little.

"This is a 2014 model," Maya said in awe, holding it up and examining it. "How could the school afford one for every student? Or even one per classroom?"

Ritsuko shook her head. "I don't quite know. I hear that Nerv pays for it, but my dad's always complaining about the budget cuts in his department. Anyways, that's not important. There shouldn't be a password for that computer, and you're free to use it at any time to take notes or whatever, but you shouldn't use the chat function during class."

"Right." Maya didn't even know who she would be talking to. Ritsuko probably only seemed so friendly because she had to go through the usual Class Representative spiel.

"Hey, Rii-chan!" some boy said, running in through the classroom door. "How's it goin'?"

Ritsuko smiled at the boy. "Ry- Kaji-san. I'm all right, just helping a new student." She nodded to Maya. "This is Ikar- Sorry. Ibuki Maya."

The new boy- Kaji- looked at Maya and chuckled. Maya wasn't sure what he was laughing about; her uniform and appearance were perfect while he just looked scruffy with his dorky ponytail and what little facial hair a fourteen-year old boy could grow. Plus his uniform was a little too big on him. "Interesting slip, Rits. So, Ikarsorryibuki, got any relatives in Nerv?" He still had that stupid grin and smile.

She shook her head. "No, I don't think so. None that I'm aware of anyway... I have a lot of cousins and maybe one of them..."

The boy started putting his things on the desk next to Maya's. Great. "One of them named Ikari? With a commanding rank?"

Maya's eyes widened in disbelief. "The commander! My cousin?" She laughed. "That's funny! We're not related at all!"

"Good luck convincing everyone about that," Kaji said, pointing to a couple of girls who were whispering to each other frantically. "I think the rumor mill is gonna get going pretty soon anyway..."

Maya looked at Kaji in confusion. "Um... Why would you even want them to start a rumor like that? Ritsuko just misspoke!"

"Actually, it's not just them..." Ritsuko said. "A couple of kids who have high-ranking Nerv parents were whispering about a new student coming in when I got here. They said some Ikari was coming in. I guess someone misheard. Still, I can't blame them. If you don't even have any Nerv family, why did they know?"

Kaji had a weird look in his eyes. Maya turned away. "I'm not related to Commander Ikari," she said firmly. "It's just a dumb rumor, okay?"

Ritsuko nodded. Kaji said nothing and Maya didn't look to see if he was doing anything or not. Kaji sat down on one side of Maya and Ritsuko sat in front of her, each deciding that the conversation was clearly over. Maya said nothing, deciding to get familiar with the computer before class began.

The next few minutes passed quickly, with all the students filing in. Ritsuko didn't talk much (she was too busy smiling at Kaji), but Maya did manage to ask one question when it suddenly occured to her. "Who is our teacher?"

"Oh! Right!" Ritsuko turned around fully and blushed. "Sorry! Our teacher's new. Strasberg-sensei. He's a foreigner, but he's apparently one of the best teachers or something."

"Nerv's paying for him too, then?"

Ritsuko shrugged. "Wouldn't surprise me. Oh! Rise! Bow! Sit!" she cried, as Strasberg-sensei entered. He was young, perhaps Captain Soryu's age, and had dark hair that seemed more blue than black. He wore a simple uniform (white shirt and slacks) that was basically a larger version of the uniforms that all the boys were wearing (the girls of course were in blue and white dresses).

Everyone followed the class representative's directions, and turned expectantly to Maya. Strasberg, knowing that nothing would get accomplished until he had Maya introduce herself, nodded to her. "Ibuki-san," he said kindly, "Please come up and introduce yourself."

"R- right." Maya stood up and walked to the front of the class, deciding then and there to nip the stupid rumors in the bud. "Uh, there seems to have been a bit of a mix-up in the rumor mill. I'm Ibuki Maya, and I'm from Kikuna. No relation to Commander Ikari. I don't think he has a daughter."

"I heard he did," someone "whispered", "but that she was lost in Second Impact and got amnesia!"

"They do look sort of similar," someone else added. "Maybe he finally found her!"

Strasberg rolled his eyes. "Quiet, kids. I'm sure Ibuki-san knows her own past better than you do."

"Not if she suffered from amnesia!" a blonde called out. Strasberg glared and immediately the class fell silent.

Kaji sniggered; Maya glared. This was not going to be her favorite school year.

* * *

><p><strong>4119:55:22<strong>

Lunchtime finally arrived. Maya found herself swamped by classmates who wanted so much to befriend "Commander Shinji Ikari's long-lost daughter." Besides Kaji and the class rep, who at least seemed genuine in their interest; there was a trio of girls, Mogami, Ooi, and Agano; two boys who seemed to be best friends, Hyuga and Aoba; and a boy named Yamada. Of course, there were actually

Maya angrily shooed the lot away, going up to the roof to eat by herself. No one followed her all the way up, but she was pretty sure she saw a few people staring out at her. When she finished eating, she went back downstairs, hoping that lunch would soon be over, but there were apparently still fifteen minutes left.

Kaji got up and sat by her when she came back in. "Still denying the rumors?" he asked. He still had that sickening grin on his face. Maya still wanted to punch it off of him. What was so entertaining about a bunch of people thinking something that was patently untrue?

"Can't you do math? I'm fourteen years old! I wouldn't have been a fetus during Second Impact, let alone capable of getting amnesia!" Maya looked around the room. Surprisingly, no one was really paying attention to her.

"Maybe your 'parents' lied to you."

Maya almost corrected him by pointing out that she'd been raised by her grandparents when she saw how stupid that was for arguing about her parents. "Why does everyone care anyways? What's the big deal if I'm Commander Ikari's daughter?"

Kaji grinned. "Simple. It would confirm that you are who you think we are."

"And who would that be?" Maya asked, exasperated.

"The pilot of the Evangelion that saved everyone a couple nights ago," Kaji answered casually, lacking his smile.

* * *

><p><strong>4116:11:09<strong>

Asuka knocked on the door to Shinji's office. She had been dreading this meeting the entire morning, but it had to be done. The door opened a and Asuka walked in.

The office was immense. It felt like she'd have to walk a mile just to get to Shinji's desk, and it didn't help that he was poring over papers, almost completely oblivious to her presence. She looked up at the ceiling, expecting an elaborate design or something. It was mostly brown, though there were a few flecks of silver and gold, like something had been painted there once.

"Hey, here's the battle data you asked for," she said when she finally made the crossing, holding out a small stack of papers.

He looked up, smiling. "Thanks," he said.

"Ibuki seems to have some grasp of the controls," Asuka noted, "though it's nowhere near as good as Rokubungi. We trained her for the past few hours. She's been doing quite nicely."

Shinji nodded, taking the report and looking over it. "We might just win this, if we can train her," he muttered, seemingly to himself.

Asuka almost left him to his musings then, but then spoke up. "Hey, ba- Commander?"

"Yeah?" He looked back up at her, no longer smiling quite as much. Asuka wondered if she shouldn't have used her old nickname for him. Probably, but she had never been one to think about what she said. She was glad she'd cut herself off.

"Permission to speak freely?" That would probably be the best thing to do at this point. 'Damage control, Asuka. Damage control.' She smiled too. That would help.

A strange look crossed Shinji's face before he said, "Of course."

"Why did you request for me to be transferred here?" Asuka asked. She suspected it was just because everyone else from the '05 class had been there, but she wasn't certain. Maybe...

He gulped, and then said, "There's a few reasons."

"My being the best-prepared being one of them, right?" She sat down as he nodded. "It's just, after what happened, I never thought we'd see each other again. Not that I mi-"

"Your competence is one of the reasons, but that's not the only one. I… I knew you'd be honest. If I suggest doing something you think is stupid, you'll say so."

"Just like in school, huh?" Asuka said, thinking back for a moment before dragging her mind back to the present.

"Among other places, yes."

Asuka frowned and fiddled with her necklace for a moment. "Look, Shinji, I…" The necklace was a cross. A cross, and a memory of a place they had in common, even though neither of them knew it until a few years after the fact. "I just want you to know, I'm over… over you, that is." He didn't say anything, so she kept going. "It was nothing but a silly schoolgirl crush on a favorite teacher. You were right and I was wrong… I said it, all right?"

Sighing, he replied. "It's the past. If you don't want to talk about it… we can put it behind us."

Asuka nodded and stood up. "Good, well… I just wanted to get it out of the way now. So that we can work professionally." She opened her mouth to ask why nearly all of her old classmates were working at Nerv, but lost the courage, and, needing something to say, managed, "I'm going to dinner now."

"Enjoy," Shinji said, looking back down at the paperwork in front of him.

Asuka made the long walk back to the exit, sighing to herself. It was better to have that conversation out of the way, but perhaps she'd only made things more awkward. She ate alone in the cafeteria, and then went back to the Command Center. Not very people were there at this time of day, and the ones that were seemed to be all grunts. She didn't recognize anyone.

"This job sucks," she muttered, loading up a map of Tokyo-3 on her console. "It's gonna be a whole lot of waiting for a chance to throw kids at monsters…"

The map loaded up, revealing all of the automated defenses and all of the possible lines of defense the city could operate. The notes were many and complex, constantly relaying to her how much electricity something could cost, which lines couldn't be operated simultaneously due to a lack of JSSDF forces, mentioning whenever something operated below 95% capacity, which sections were under repairs, which sections were due for maintenance.

It wasn't so much a map as thousands of sticky notes thrown into a pile.

"How is anyone supposed to operate a thing like this?" she muttered, closing the program in frustration. "It's so complex, it's useless. I'd be better off leaving both Evas in the center of the city and plugged in twenty-four/seven."

"An interesting proposal, but unfeasible, Captain," a voice, caring and light, said behind her.

Asuka swung around to see a light-haired man smiling at her. "Uh…"

"I'm the Vice Commander, Nagisa Kaworu, representing the United Nations Committee in Charge of Nerv. It is wonderful to meet you."

**4109:12:47**


	5. In which a report isn't burned

**In which a report isn't burned, whatever its author might think**

_"The goal of all life is death." - Sigmund Freud_

"Kotonoha Katsuko's Report on Rokubungi Gendo:

Progress continues to be minimal.

Yesterday, we returned to our regular schedule of interviews. They went somewhat like every other one, except our opening discussion, in which instead of replying with "I feel nothing" to the question "How are you feeling?" he reported that he was in pain. I'd be angry, but really I should have expected as much.

He continues to refuse to cooperate with most of the exercises, informing me that they are pointless. My job is made all the more difficult by the standing order not to pry into his past beyond about five years or so ago. I am quite confident that whatever trauma happened to this kid, it has to have happened earlier.

Commander Ikari, I again request the right to look deeper into his profiles. At least let me know about his background. You can't fix problems without a full knowledge of events.

Seeing as that won't ever happen, here's what I can determine about the boy:

1) He is repressing his emotions. Considering what little I know about him, the best reason I can come up with is that someone close to him died. Perhaps his parents?

2) He is intensely, fanatically loyal to Commander Ikari and Doctor Ayanami. As they are the only ones who display any knowledge of his past, I'd suggest that they "rescued" him from some situation and have inadvertently become replacement parents in his eyes.

3) Because of this fanaticism, he reacts negatively to any perceived effort to distance themselves from him. Doctor Ayanami's activity in this regard is most unsettling, but she believes that he will not recover without learning not to cling to individuals in his present manner, and as such refuses to make herself closer.

This is the fifty-seventh time I have reported as such, nearly once weekly. If anyone actually reads these reports, they should know this. If, as I am beginning to suspect, this entire job is pointless, then I'm sure that this is merely the fifty-seventh time my reports have been incinerated."

* * *

><p>Three days at school, and barely anyone believed her. Maybe not anyone, actually, though Ritsuko was polite and assured Maya that she'd know better than anyone else. Kaji kept joking that she was really sixteen, but a late bloomer to explain why she looked fourteen. She would have punched him, but… violence really wasn't her forte.<p>

While no one seemed willing to dismiss the stupid rumor, a few people were willing to shut up about it most of the time. Besides Ritsuko and Kaji, Hyuga and Aoba were cool about things, and Maya found herself hanging out with them more and more often.

Ritsuko, despite being Class Representative, couldn't at all be considered prim and proper. She did the role well enough for the teachers, but around her friends she was more interested in punk rock bands than schoolwork. According to Kaji, she dyed her hair a different color every month, and blond was apparently unusual for her - she didn't like colors that people could grow naturally. As far as Maya could tell, she was Ritsuko's only female friend; she didn't have much patience for most of the rest.

Kaji… Kaji was strange. He read every tabloid you could find in a supermarket, and seemed to have a few dozen others besides. Aliens, time travel, government conspiracies, he loved it. He didn't seem to believe a word of it, but he kept reading anyways, laughing and wondering if maybe, just maybe, some low-key article might be real. About the only relatively sane thing he liked was the James Bond franchise, and that was only because he wanted to be just like the man when he grew up.

Makoto Hyuga would frequently humor Kaji's tabloid obsessions, but most of the time he kept to himself, preferring the company of a good comic book to anyone else. He was the only one who really excelled at the schoolwork; no one else was bad per se, it's just that he was a straight-A student. He and Kaji were best friends, and frequently hung out after school, even when no one else could.

And last was Shigeru Aoba. The kid was just as much of a weirdo as Kaji was, but in a completely different way. His hair was dyed, like Ritsuko's, but black, a black that felt more unreal than anything else. He frequently expressed the belief that the Angels were going to destroy humanity sooner or later, something that Maya couldn't help but agree with, though she'd never say it. He and Ritsuko were always talking about starting up a band together, but they couldn't get a drummer or a bass player, so it was always dreaming.

"What would we call it, anyways?" Aoba asked the fourth lunch Maya spent at school.

"We need something big. How about…" Ritsuko considered for a moment. "First Impact?"

Maya looked at Ritsuko in disbelief. "Isn't that… in rather poor taste?"

"Well, we're not exactly going to be a clean band. We're going to be cutting edge and offensive!" Ritsuko explained.

"But Second Impact killed-"

"Just drop it," Kaji said. "Their band is never gonna get off the ground anyways." He flipped the page of his latest tabloid. "Ooh, a squirrel gave birth to a three-headed alien."

"It will too! We just need a couple more people."

"To hide how poorly you sing and play?"

Ritsuko glared. "Look, Maya, what about you? Don't you know how to play anything? Or we could teach you."

Maya shook her head. "I don't really have time. I spend half of my time after school doing synch tests at Nerv. I still haven't memorized all the controls, and we don't know when the next Angel will show up."

"You haven't been able to hang out after school any day this week, you know," Makoto said, almost accusingly. "Do they ever intend to give you a break?"

Maya looked down at her lunch for a minute. She was barely able to fit homework in around Nerv with the current schedule, and she'd heard Doctor Ayanami talking about revving up her training at least until Gendo recovered, so they wouldn't be caught completely unprepared.

She'd asked why they couldn't just rely on the AI to cover things, but Ayanami had pointed out that "We can't rely on artificial intelligence to fix all of our problems. Something might go wrong." So, until Maya could pilot the Eva perfectly, she wasn't getting any breaks.

"Well," Ritsuko offered, "you could come over on Saturday. There's no school, if we're lucky they won't schedule anything for you that day."

"I'll see if I can get permission for that," Maya said, but she doubted anything would happen in that respect. Briefly, she looked over at an empty desk by the window, where she was told that Rokubungi sat. She wondered when he'd get better.

She also remembered the unspoken implication in what the Commander had told her. She didn't want to destroy the facility, but that meant-

-Gendo did.

**4044:11:58**

* * *

><p>Breathe…<p>

Maya looked down angrily at her plugsuit. It was too tight, really. They said it wasn't, that she just wasn't used to skintight things and that after a couple of weeks everything would be just perfect and she wouldn't even notice it. They were wrong.

She hated everything else about it too. The stupid purple color, the way the material blatantly changed around her breasts and crotch, drawing in all attention to them. She was sure everyone stared, even though she never did catch anyone did so. What the hell was Nerv doing designing uniforms like this?

Breathe…

LCL filled the chamber, orange and disgusting. Maya still felt like she wanted to throw up. Then everything went clear, and if Maya was perfectly still, she could pretend she was just sitting in an empty chamber.

But that definitely wasn't the case, and even breathing reminded her. As she tried to inhale and fill her lungs, her expanding chest felt the resistance of the liquid around her, making breathing slightly harder. Moving her arms was even more difficult, and she found that it was best to find a comfortable spot for her legs immediately rather than ending up struggling against the LCL later. Whatever it was about this stuff that cushioned pilots in safely, it worked a little too well.

Breathe…

Sound became distorted. LCL mixed with the radio mixed with the noises of the Entry Plug around her managed to make everything come in twisted and slow. She tried to follow Asuka's instructions exactly, but she had to guess what those instructions were. Go forward? DON'T go forward? What was the difference when she was stuck here in this machine?

And why care anyways? The LCL felt like a drug, soothing her to the point where nothing really mattered. Her eyes could barely stay open during this phase, and then everything became rhythmic; the machines beating like a loving heart. She had to focus, to tune it out.

Breathe…

Thousands of psychedelic images flashed in front of her. She wasn't sure if they were really there, or if something about the synchronization process caused her to hallucinate about the empty white spaces of the Entry Plug.

Then there were noises, smells, tastes, and other sensations rolled across her. It was like being two people at once for a moment, a disorienting sensation that made her have to fight even harder to lift her feet, struggle against herself to move her arms, before she learned to ignore Maya Ibuki and focus in on the purple robot, and only the purple robot. Even then, Maya was always there, always not moving her legs and tripping herself up when she realized that. Still, even temporarily forgetting made it easier, easier to follow directions and run and jump and dodge and fire and most of all, most important of all, not scream.

She wasn't allowed to be afraid any more.

So instead, she tried to breathe.

**4040:50:28**

* * *

><p>Asuka and a small fleet of technicians watched the battle from above the Pribnow Box where everything was being simulated, smiling at the ridiculous graphics used to represent the Angel. Maya and Eva-01 were behaving admirably, running through the gauntlet that Rei had programmed for them as best as they could. They weren't perfect, still mistiming jumps or turning a little too soon, but Maya was getting the hang of it.<p>

"It's enough to make me think we have a chance," she commented.

"You doubted that?" Kaworu asked. Asuka jumped a little and turned; he hadn't been behind her before. He was smiling. He always smiled, and while Asuka wanted to hate him for it, she couldn't. There wasn't ever any doubt in his mind that things were going to be okay. That made him different from every adult Asuka had known in fifteen years.

"Well, a little," she said. "What are you doing here, anyways, Vice-Commander? I thought you had more important responsibilities than a training mission."

Kaworu shrugged. "I like checking up on everyone. Making sure that all of our staff is doing well. It's important."

"Fair enough." Asuka turned back to the Pribnow Box. "How's she doing?" she asked the technicians. There were at least a dozen; so many computers were stuffed into the small rectangular observation room and all of them needed constant monitoring during tests.

Suzuhara was the first to respond. "She's averaging eighty-six percent as far as a success rate goes. Her synch rate, though, is as low as ever."

"Any idea how to increase it?" Asuka asked. "What do you guys do for Gendo?"

"Extended training is all he seems to need," Hikari said without looking up from her console. "Why are you asking though? Didn't you train a pilot in Germany?"

"Well, of course. But I wasn't around for her early training, just the last couple of years. She wasn't good at first, but I never looked into how they jump-started her."

Toji considered something for a few minutes. Asuka could tell by the way he was biting his lip. "Uh… well… maybe her synch would increase if we upped the difficulty of the training?"

"She's only at 86% as it is."

"So she's doing well enough," Toji argued. "Why improve when 9 times out of 10 you're doing okay? If we force her to go twice as hard as she actually can, she'll get better from the stress!" He actually sounded excited.

Asuka's eyes narrowed. "I don't think it works that way," she said flatly.

"It might be worth a shot."

Asuka shook her head. "Fine. Increase the difficulty or whatever. But you guys are dealing with this if she breaks down." She turned to Kaworu, who was still watching. "Is there anything you need, sir?"

"I'll be going now," he responded, still smiling. Always. "Report by my office later this evening, though, if you would. There's a few things we should discuss about the strategic front." He bowed very politely and then exited.

Once the door was closed, the technicians began to talk a little more freely about the vice commander. "He's kinda weird," Kensuke commented. "Nice, but… a little too nice, don't you think?"

"I really don't know," Asuka answered. "I just met him." She frowned to herself. Was there such a thing as too nice anymore? It wasn't like he could be an enemy spy for the Angels, after all. And all of humanity was on the same side, so there'd be no reason to fake friendliness. "I think he's genuine though. Maybe just not used to this part of Japan and overcompensating a bit. Besides, nearly everyone in the higher rankings knows everyone else; he's kind of the odd man out."

"I guess, but sti-"

"We have a job to do, Aida." The captain glared for a moment. "We can gossip later."

**4040:26:19**

* * *

><p>Gendo lay in bed, aching. They wouldn't give him painkillers for another hour. He'd asked twice in the past hour, an unusual amount of conversation for him. No one had come to visit him in several days. The last time, the Commander had brought that girl, and she'd just stared at him pityingly. They thought he'd been asleep.<p>

The commander had been lying to her, in a sense. Painting a picture that, from the right perspective, was entirely true, but, with all the information available, was clearly wrong. He'd nearly spoken out, but decided against it at the last moment. The half-truths might be better for the girl to know.

There were too many dark secrets running about the depths of the Geofront, hidden in dark corners behind locked doors behind mazes upon mazes. Secrets kept so far down that no one could hear the bleeding or the screaming, not matter how loud it got.

**4040:00:00**


	6. In which synchronization is explained

**In which synchronization is explained**

_"Sometimes one pays most for the things one gets for nothing." - Albert Einstein_

Maya woke not to the sound of her alarm clock but to the sound of the phone ringing. Slowly, she pushed herself out of bed and ambled over to the phone, which was kept in the kitchen. Her house was slowly becoming a mess, she realized. She hadn't had a chance to clean it yet. The past seven days had been far too busy for her to do much but come home after training, do some homework, and collapse into her bed, which still hadn't been made.

She answered the phone. "Hello," she said. "This is Ibuki Maya..."

"Sup! It's Kaji Ryoji." Maya giggled to herself. His voice was a little deeper over the phone, which made him sound more like an adult. "Sorry for calling so early, but I wanted to get a hold of you! Rii-chan and I forgot to mention. We were gonna go hang out at the park tomorrow; there's a guy there who makes ice cream and he always has discounts on Monday. Can you come?"

Maya sighed. "I don't know. I think I have stuff to do tomorrow..." She looked around the kitchen. The dirty dishes in the sink were a nice reminder of how much training she'd been putting in lately. Maya wasn't a good pilot or anything, not yet, but this level of training seemed ridiculously excessive. She worked from two-thirty until ten, not counting dinner.

"You have training every day," Ryoji protested. "Can't you get a day off or something? I'm pretty sure people get those if they work in Japan. At least one a year."

"I didn't say I was tr-" Maya began.

Ryoji didn't let her finish. "It's pretty much blatantly obvious, Maya. You couldn't have given yourself away any more if you'd shown up to school wearing an official Nerv uniform. But seriously. Get a day off."

Maya laughed again. "I'll try," she said, bowing and smiling even though he couldn't see her. "Thanks for inviting me, by the way."

"Of course. I mean, you don't have any other friends to hang out with right now, since you just moved here, so..." Ryoji hesitated. "Well, I think you're cool so you should hang with us, Miss Eva Pilot!" He laughed a bit. "See you tomorrow in class?"

"Yeah. Bye!"

"See ya." Kaji hung up, and Maya did too. She looked around her kitchen angrily. She really should get to work on this place before she had to leave for Nerv...

**3977:24:24**

* * *

><p>The commander walked down the hallway slowly, thinking. The Committee still refused to release their translations for the Dead Sea Scrolls, and as they had the only complete copy he had no other recourse. The Angels were predicted within them, described in cruel detail that would further the survival of mankind. He needed those papers.<p>

He turned a corner, intending to ride the elevator up to his office. However, the doors were already open, but closing quickly.

"Hey, hold the elevator!" Shinji called out.

The person inside quickly pressed the Hold button and waited for him to come. It was Asuka, smiling. "Hey," she said. "Which floor?"

"My office," Shinji responded.

Asuka sighed. "You never leave your office if you can help it, do you? I think this is the first time since the Angel that I've seen you outside it."

"Well, my quarters adjoin it, so between sleeping and all the paperwork I have to worry about, I usually don't have time. I only left recently because I had a meeting with the Committee." Shinji blushed, knowing she had a point. Lately he'd spent far too much time there.

"The Committee? That's who Kaworu represents, right?"

Shinji's eyes narrowed. "You call him Kaworu?"

Asuka looked up to see how many floors they had left to go. Only a few more. Good. This conversation was going to be ridiculous, she could just tell. "He asked me to. He… he's kind of cool for a superior officer."

"He isn't," Shinji retorted.

The captain raised an eyebrow. "Really? What is he then, Commander?"

"He's a fanatic," Shinji said. "That's all he is."

It was better than the typical "He's not as nice as he seems to be!" that Asuka had seen in so many TV shows, but only just. "Look, Commander, I'm not interested in Kaworu at all. He's my superior officer and we've been working on tactical plans together over the past week. You don't have to warn me away from him. It's just a cliché."

Shinji sighed. "I'm talking about you even being friends with someone like him. Surely you remembered what we talked about in those classes? The Committee is only interested in people doing what they're told. They're saving the world for their own sake, not anybody else's."

The elevator doors opened, and Asuka stepped out. For a brief moment, the harshest words she could have said wanted to spring out, leap from her lips like flung spears and eviscerate the Commander. She very nearly started to say something, but the elevator doors were shut and the device continued upward.

"Dammit, Commander," she muttered to herself.

**3974:00:25**

* * *

><p>Her frustrations with the Commander were soon forgotten when she arrived in Nagisa's office. It was immaculate; every shelf carefully organized, every piece of furniture kept dusted, every picture on the wall straightened. His desk was completely cleared of papers or anything else, and instead was projecting a holographic map of Tokyo-3. Asuka sat down in the chair opposite Kaworu's and bowed her head.<p>

"Morning!" he said brightly. Always polite, always cheerful. Asuka wondered briefly if it was a façade, but didn't ask. Everyone born before 2000 had them. No reason to push his.

"Hello," she said, looking over the map. "I see my latest changes were approved."

Kaworu nodded. "Correct. If this last defense line-" He pointed to a line of gun turrets guarding the oceanfront of a nearby town. "-meets with your approval, we can start discussions about the Evangelion weapons. Research and Development has a few dozen ideas."

Asuka's eyes widened. "That many? But… We only have a couple of Evangelion units, and the guns-"

"The guns are apparently not enough, according to them. Or at least, it might be worth it to see what else we can build. You are aware that there are two competing companies, aren't you?" Kaworu reached into a drawer to produce papers on them, but Asuka cut him off.

"I read something about that in the report. Heavy Chemical Industries is building something. But the only other information about mechas I saw was something about the JSSDF, who aren't exactly a company." Asuka grinned a moment. "Surely they're not in competition with us?"

"Well, I'm sure you can understand that the Japanese government doesn't enjoy having so much reliance on a multi-national organization. They could actually be a world power if they got rid of their dependence on Nerv and its signatory nations, so having a project of their own that can deal with the Angels would be the best thing that could ever happen to them."

Asuka frowned. "So we're designing more weapons to seem more competent, so that HCI and the JSSDF don't have a chance? That's a waste of money."

"Give the designs a chance," Kaworu said. "We have to pay R&D to do something until we fight more Angels and see what they're capable of."

"I guess. So, whaddya got?"

Kaworu opened a different drawer, and the designs poured forth. They weren't even all ranged weaponry; swords and other melee weapons had been presented. Asuka could see some use in them; if an Angel tried to get too close to one of the Evangelions having something to deter it besides a prog knife.

"Um, wow." Asuka laughed. "We've got a lot to talk about, huh?" She picked up a couple design papers. "Let's get started."

**3973:54:37**

* * *

><p>Maya gulped as she knocked on Doctor Ayanami's office door. She'd asked where the doctor worked and while the technicians had been glad to tell her where it was, they'd said that the doctor didn't particularly enjoy being interrupted in the course of her work. She had important things to do. Samples to analyze, reports to write, proposals to approve... She barely had time to see anyone.<p>

"Enter."

Maya pushed the door open, and looked inside. The office was covered in computer monitors, and the whirring of the fans was immense. Even with that the room was sweltering. Worse than Maya's apartment had been the day she'd moved in. On top of that; the place was both spartan, with no personal possessions visible, and felt unclean, with the metal walls slowly rusting.

"Uh, Doctor?" Ayanami didn't look up from the computer she was working with, or say anything, so Maya was forced to keep going. "I was wondering about my training schedule. I've trained seven days straight now, and… I was wondering if I could have a day off."

The doctor looked up at her. "What for? Are you ill?"

"N- no. It's just… I've got some friends, and it would be nice if I could have a day to relax with them every now and again. Not often, just… once a week… or… something?" Maya gulped again.

Ayanami sighed and turned her attention back to the computer screen. "What's your synch ratio right now?"

"Uh, I guess it's something like twenty-five percent. And it was only twenty when I started!"

"That's not nearly good enough. Gendo still has a ratio of thirty percent. You need to continue training. The next Angel might arrive tomorrow, and you'll be stuck all alone. Maybe when Gendo finishes recovering, we can arrange for you to have a day off."

"That's ridiculous! I'm barely keeping up with schoolwork as it is!"

Ayanami shrugged. "You go to school so you can have a normal life, Pilot Ibuki, not for grades. We know we can't just train you constantly. I can assure you it doesn't really matter if you pass or not."

'Lovely,' Maya thought.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm busy. Please leave." Rei turned back to the computers and said nothing more. Angrily, Maya was forced to leave. She wasn't really all that surprised she'd said no.

**3971:12:52**

* * *

><p>Synch ratios.<p>

Nerv had coined many terms over the years, but this counted as one of the weirdest. The ratio part was easy enough to understand, obviously, but the main issue was the other word. Synchronization.

The human mind is a self-contained object. It can gather input through nerves, and it can send instructions to various parts of the mind. That's it. End of story. Telepathy is a myth, precognitive dreaming merely the two times a day a broken clock is right. Nothing short of a vast amount of energy expended to alter humanity could change that.

Nerv had explored one of those ways, developing the Evangelion units. Bits and pieces of things almost but not quite identical (excepting scale) to human nerves were strung through each and every limb of the humanoids. These nerves were strung together in inhuman ways, and where they met in tangled coils, radio transmitters had been placed, relaying electrical data.

The data was sent through the LCL at a fraction of a fraction of a second; slowed down, but not enough for the human brain to notice. The receivers? Tucked away in what initially seem to be hair-clips. They're not though. Each of them has a tiny microdrill, and when placed on a human head they push their way in and connect to the nerves of the brain.

The receiver, called an A-10 Nerve Unit, converts the electrical energy into something the brain can understand, and disrupts the normal path of the mind with the new signal, fooling someone into believing that an Evangelion arm is their own arm. But even that isn't good enough. At first it doesn't produce a powerful enough signal for full disruption, and the regular signals of the brain come in, producing disorientation. A low synchronization ratio.

But damage the brain enough, continue to interfere with the signaling of its nerves, and eventually the A-10 units will disrupt the brain completely whenever attached to a human being. A high synchronization ratio. 100%.

Strangely, some argue that that isn't as high as you can go, even though you can't remove the normal signals any more than you already have.

Can you?

* * *

><p>"So," Ritsuko said when Maya came to school on Monday. "You can't come, can you?"<p>

Maya shook her head angrily and slammed her bag onto her desk. "It's stupid! Seven straight days of training and they won't let off or anything! The doctor claims that I'll get a break as soon as Rokubungi recover-" She didn't even have a chance to finish before Ryoji started laughing.

"That's what she says now, sure. I bet that as soon as he recovers, you won't get a break until you know how to work together."

Maya nodded. "I was willing to bet as much."

The bell rang before they could continue that line of thought, and then the teacher began talking about Second Impact. He talked about the meteorite that caused it, including the well-known "paradox" that something so small could do so much damage. He asked why that was, and Ritsuko's hand shot into the air immediately.

"Because it was moving at ninety-nine percent the speed of light," she said in a bored tone, managing to add a second layer of meaning: "We learned this when we were five. Can we move on now?"

Strasberg-sensei sighed. "Right," and went on about the man who detected it (Caimoa Nan), and the instant annihilation of two billion people living in the southern hemisphere, etc, etc, etc. He didn't ask any questions though, and Maya decided to start doodling rather than paying any attention to him. She soon realized, looking up a little while later, that nearly everyone else was ignoring him too.

She sighed.

For a brief moment, the alarms that suddenly went off were a relief.

Then she realized that they meant an Angel was coming.

**3951:30:07**


	7. In which Maya betrays a friend

**In which Maya betrays a friend**

_"An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified." - Gospel of Luke_

'Breathe… Breathe and don't stop breathing no matter what,' Maya told herself as the LCL flooded the chamber. 'It won't even be so bad this time. They say that Gendo will be deployed with me.'

Colors and sounds flashed by again. It didn't feel so weird this time. Eva-01 was carted onto the lift again. Maya barely noticed it. One point five seconds later, Eva-01 stood on the streets. Its pilot barely felt the urge to throw up.

"Where's Eva-00?" she asked.

Over the comm, Captain Soryu responded. "Five blocks to your south. That's not important though. You remember where Gun Tower 3-A is? Go there."

Maya paused a brief moment before running forward a few blocks and then turning right. The tower was already opening as she approached it. Maya realized, as she reached for the gun, that the entire skyline of the city was different from how it was normally. She wondered why that was.

"The Angel didn't destroy any of the skyscrapers already, did it?" she asked anxiously.

Horaki laughed. "No. They can be retracted into the Geofront. Don't worry about things. The target's fifty meters away from you now. Rokubungi will make contact first. Hurry and go northwest."

Maya nodded and sent the Evangelion running. Tokyo-3's street system had been designed strangely for a driver, but quite nicely for an Evangelion. Instead of being one perfect grid running north to south and east to west, there were several small grids of streets throughout the city, some of which ran along the forty-five degree angles. Two blocks from where she stood the streets curved along that angle, and she followed them.

This new Angel loomed tall above her, shining and strangely metallic. The form was humanoid, like an Evangelion, but much thicker. Light reflected off of the creature's body in several directions. Each reflection Maya could see was subtly wrong, somehow. The shapes of the towers around them were twisted, curling in around each other.

Once again, the mere appearance of the Angel gave Maya the sensation that something was horribly wrong in the world. Once again, some instinctual part of her brain told her to kill it, to kill it quickly and destroy all remnants of it to put things right.

Once again, she was getting a headache.

She turned to the other presence in the battlefield; the bright blue and white robot Evangelion Unit 00. So far, the pilot within it had maintained strict radio silence, and Maya had no idea what Gendo was up to, but presently he held a gun in each hand and was firing rapidly. Unfortunately, a strange barrier of rainbow colors formed between the two giants, and every shot was deflected.

Maya held up her gun and began firing as well. Another rainbow barrier formed between her and the Angel, much to her frustration. And, on some level, terror.

"What is that thing?" she demanded angrily.

"The Fourth Angel is projecting an Absolute Terror Field." Lovely name, perfectly reassuring, nothing at all to distress Maya in the least. "Project your own AT Field to counteract the effects." Captain Soryu added, "Gendo, you too."

"Yes, ma'am," Maya heard the boy state.

Eva-00 lowered its guns for a moment, and Maya watched in amazement as the barrier between the two giants began to flicker, and eventually fade. Unfortunately for Gendo, the instant the barrier was gone the Angel reached out quickly and grabbed Eva-00's neck, tightening its grip. Maya was impressed that its pilot didn't cry out at all.

Because the AT Field seemed to still be down, Maya fired quickly at the Angel. All of the shots bounced off of the creature's metallic form, splitting into six different shots as each bolt hit and going off in completely different directions. Maya heard some exclamations from the command center about that, but she wasn't paying them any attention.

"If I can't hurt it with my gun, what can I do?" she muttered. A crazy idea entered her head, and she went with it. Its reflective surface might block light and plasma, but could it block solid objects? With that in mind, she charged, not caring what the command thought. She had to get Gendo out of that thing's death grip.

She let out a horrible scream and charged.

The plan worked, more or less. The butt of the gun did damage, yes, and the Angel let go of Gendo, but Eva-00 collapsed and Maya only heard Gendo gasping for breath as the creature swung around to face her. Then, naturally, it grabbed onto her. Maya began to scream.

Then of course, she started running out of air.

And then, a great deal of time later, she passed out.

**3951:06:38**

* * *

><p>And woke up in a hospital bed again.<p>

"I can't keep doing this," she muttered as soon as she remembered who she was and why she was there.

This time, when she sat up, the Commander wasn't there. She didn't know what she thought about that. No one even entered her room for half an hour, and that was only a nurse who'd been expecting to come in on a sleeping girl.

"What happened?" Maya asked, not really caring. Whatever it was, she'd won.

"Gendo Rokubungi recovered in time to defeat the Angel," the nurse answered simply. "Before that though, HQ forcibly disconnected you from your Evangelion to prevent damage."

"Forcibly disconnected?" Maya stared at the nurse in confusion. "Do you know what that means, ma'am?"

"No, I'm sorry. I don't." The nurse started taking Maya's pulse. "I'm just a regular nurse, Miss Ibuki. I don't really understand how the Evangelion units function. That's for more advanced doctors."

Maya couldn't think of anything else to ask if she was just talking to a regular physician, so she sat back and tried to relax as the nurse looked over her. She came out with a reasonably clean bill of health, and was assured that any lasting pain she might have from synching would fade out by tomorrow morning. Then the nurse left, not saying anything else. Maya was left alone on her bed, and she realized then that she had nothing to do.

At no time that day did anyone come to visit her. The nurse only came two more times; once to deliver dinner, once to take the plates away. Maya leafed through some magazines that the hospital provided, but saw that there was nothing of interest. She tried sleeping for awhile, but she always came back to the same dream.

**3937:50:25**

* * *

><p>The moon hung high in the sky, impossibly large and seemingly made entirely out of light. Only rough strokes of light gray suggested to Maya that it was supposed to be the moon at all. Excepting the moon, everything was draped in red and orange light. The sound of trains echoed somewhere in the distance, but Maya could not see where it originated from, nor anything else of interest. The world extended out forever, flat and uninteresting.<p>

So she walked, and walked, and walked. It might have taken her forever just to walk. Maybe it was only an hour, or even less. It was hard to tell in dreams. But with all the walking, she never saw anything; nothing except the vast moon and the red Earth. If humanity existed at all in this dream, it had long ago walked away from this strange world. Who could blame it?

She gave up, and fell to the red Earth to lie on the ground. Then she heard someone, or perhaps something, say her name.

And then she woke up.

**1:00:00**

* * *

><p>Maya was given her schoolbag the next day and was driven to the middle school with Gendo, who had apparently spent the night in observation. He said nothing the entire drive, staring out the window despite her best efforts to communicate. When the car stopped in the parking lot, Gendo practically flew out of the car and started jogging to the school building before Maya had even unbuckled her seatbelt. The driver chuckled.<p>

'Shut up,' Maya thought angrily as she got out of the car. 'I should just quit. I haven't even defeated either of the stupid Angels, and Gendo must have killed that Second Angel before I got here.'

She sat down at her desk in a funk, but this didn't seem to stop Ritsuko from smiling at her. "I'm glad you're okay! We were worried about you when you didn't come back to school yesterday." She laughed. "How did the fight go? Did you show that Angel who was boss?"

"I didn't really do much," Maya responded. She was about to explain more about what had gone wrong in this battle when Ryoji came running up.

"Look at this, Maya-san!" he said, laughing. "It's great!" He held out a tabloid, which she took wearily.

"ANGELS - A SIMPLE NAME, OR THE REAL DEAL?" the headline asked. Under it was, "IS NERV WAGING WAR AGAINST GOD?"

Maya couldn't help but chuckle a little and opened the tabloid up to the article proper to begin reading aloud. "'Yesterday the thir-'" Maya paused here. "That's a typo," she explained. "It should read fourth. Anyways… 'Yesterday the third angel arrived in Tokyo-3. But was it a simple alien monster, or the Angel of Secrets, Raziel?"

Ritsuko shook her head. "They've really outdone themselves this time." Then she asked, "So, do you want to come over today?"

Maya considered for a moment. They'd told her two days ago that they'd scheduled a training session every day for another week, but… She didn't care anymore. She knew, deep down, that she'd tell them she was leaving, that she wanted them to find someone else to replace her. She wasn't good enough anyways.

"Why not?" she said. She'd just leave, and that would be the end of it. It was a perfect plan, really.

**3928:07:54**

* * *

><p>It was no surprise to Maya that as she left the school with Ritsuko and Ryoji, several Nerv agents slowly stepped out from their hiding places around the school. She didn't know there were any such men tasked with watching her constantly but it wasn't that much of a surprise when she thought about it. They slowly approached her.<p>

One asked, "Did you forget that you have an obligation with us today?"

Everyone turned to Maya, and she sighed. "I know," she said. "But..." She almost said, "I quit," but decided that that would probably be too dramatic now. "I want to see Dr. Ayanami."

They nodded and one whispered into a walkie-talkie. A car pulled up, and the agent opened the door. "Get in," he said.

Maya turned back to the other two. "Sorry," she said.

Ryoji shrugged, Ritsuko nodded. "It's cool," she assured her. "We'll see you later, promise." The two turned and continued on, though Maya noticed as she got into the car that they turned back occasionally to look. She sighed to herself and waved as the car drove past them. They waved back, but weren't smiling.

The car ride was long and circuitous; Maya noticed that they frequently went around in circles. As it seemed unlikely that the agent was deliberately incompetent, it must have been... Maya wasn't sure. A punishment for not being willing to pilot every day they told her to? Maybe.

Finally, they pulled into one of the buildings that led down into the underground facilities, and the car was taken to a small, familiar parking garage. The agents let her out and walked her through the maze of hallways to the familiar office of Doctor Ayanami. Maya opened the door and went in. The agents didn't follow.

The doctor's computer wasn't on, and she had turned her chair so that she was facing Maya. The room was as dark and grungy as ever. The only bright thing in the room was Ayanami's smile. "You wanted to see me?"

"I..." Maya sighed. "I can't keep piloting."

Rei didn't respond for a moment. "May I ask why?" she finally said, looking annoyed. "Your synchronization ratios remain as high as ever."

Maya sighed. "I'm clearly not good enough in actual combat," she said. "You need someone who can actually pilot."

Again a pause, then surprisingly, the doctor nodded. But her smile had twisted, and now looked more threatening than inviting. "Very well. We'll save Eva-01's AI, replace its core with a new one, and select a new pilot." The doctor paused a moment to look at a computer screen. "Hmm, this Akagi girl will do," she muttered. "She's your age. Are you absolutely sure you're going to leave?"

Maya hesitated. Should she leave, if it meant Ritsuko would be stuck piloting? She hadn't known the girl for very long, but she had been nice. She gulped. It didn't matter. Maya wasn't good enough. "Yes."

Doctor Ayanami clicked a few things with her mouse. "Your records are now on standby. We can arrange for you to be sent out of the city in two days."

The Doctor was still smiling, but now Maya couldn't tell if it was warmly or coldly. "Is that all?"

Maya nodded, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach. She was told to leave, and she did.

**3920:22:11**


	8. In which Gendo volunteers information

**In which Gendo volunteers information**

_"By this arrangement the mutual need for warmth is only very moderately satisfied; but then people do not get pricked" - Schopenhauer on the Hedgehog's Dilemma_

Asuka sat on Rei's desk, sighing. "So she's already leaving then, is she?" Rei wished she would get off the desk; Asuka had a habit of posing and was currently leaning back slightly, her legs crossed and swinging slightly together, bouncing off the edge of the desk.

"In two days, yes," Rei said, trying to focus on the displays on her computer. She wasn't concerned at all. There was always a way to make the pilots come back; she just hadn't found it yet. "I do have an extra chair, you know."

"I'm fine," Asuka said, not moving in the slightest. "I just don't get it. You guys were ready to tie her up and throw her in Eva-01 if she didn't cooperate the first day she got here, but now you're just ready to let her go?"

"We can't really force her," Rei explained. "People still have rights, whatever power the Diet might have given us. Besides, a completely unwilling pilot kept in an Eva would be a liability."

"Funny how that never got mentioned that first night," Asuka muttered. "I mean, I know I'm the one who convinced her in the end, but that's just because we needed her. If I hadn't said anything, we all would have died." She looked around the room. Rei had been a clean freak when they'd been in college together; it seemed weird that she would appreciate such a grungy room.

"You don't need to justify yourself to me."

"Why'd we send for her anyway?" Asuka asked suddenly. "Aren't there plenty of potential pilots we can use? I keep hearing about the Marduk Institute."

Rei looked up from her computer. "If I tell you, will you let me work in peace?" Asuka nodded almost immediately, excited. She barely even noticed that Rei was suddenly smiling again. Rei preferred it that way.

**3916:40:22**

* * *

><p>"You're leaving?" Shigeru shouted. "But you just got here!"<p>

"I know…" Maya played with her lunch idly. She had considered not even coming back to school, but had realized that morning that despite it all, she wanted to say goodbye to everyone. She also knew she needed to warn Ritsuko ahead of time, but she wasn't entirely how to phrase it.

"Well," said Kaji, "you could at least tell us why."

Maya took a moment to answer, looking around at the group, who had scooted their desks together to form one large table to eat on. "I'm not good enough to pilot for Nerv, okay? I didn't even really kill either of the two Angels I fought. The AI killed the first one, and the other one…" She looked over at Gendo.

Ritsuko looked a little hurt. "I thought you'd be staying awhile. It was fun, even if we only got a chance to hang out during lunch." She looked over at Gendo as well. "Besides, you're the much nicer of the two pilots. We could have found out so much from you."

"That's probably not a good reason for her to stay though," Makoto said. "If she's not doing very well, then why should she stick around? It doesn't sound like anything that's all that fun..."

Ritsuko glared. "I wasn't saying she should stay if she's not enjoying it! I'm just saying… Besides, I trust her more for the whole 'saving the world' thing than I do that kid. He hasn't spoken once! When Strasberg-sensei asks him questions, he just doesn't answer until someone else volunteers. He's either a jerk, incredibly full of himself, or retarded!"

"You shouldn't talk about him like that," Kaji commented jokingly. "Today's magazine says that both pilots have ray guns with all the power of an N2 mine! He could incinerate you for talking about him like that!"

"Shut up, Kaji," Ritsuko and Shigeru said simultaneously.

The boy sighed. "Just trying to lighten the mood," he muttered.

"Anyways," Makoto said. "We will miss you, Maya-san. Are you sure you can't stay in town?"

Maya shook her head. "I guess they're sending me back to my grandparents. That won't be all that great, but… At least I'll get to see my friends back home. And I'll be sure to send you guys some emails, okay?"

The lunch bell rang, which prevented Maya from talking to Ritsuko about the change in piloting. She resolved to tell her as soon as school was out, but when that came, she was approached by someone else.

"I wish to speak to you," Gendo said, standing in front of Maya's desk. "Now."

"Uh…" Maya turned to Ritsuko and the rest of the gang, who were grabbing their stuff and getting ready to leave. "I-"

"We'll see you tomorrow, Maya!" Kaji said. "We'll be at the train station, don't worry about that!"

"Bye!" Ritsuko added.

Maya turned back to Gendo, glaring. "What is it?" She hissed. "I was going to talk to Ritsuko! She's going to be in charge of piloting in my place, you know!"

"You're quitting," he said simply.

"Yes," Maya replied. "I'm quitting. What do you want?"

"Why?" he asked.

"Why? Weren't you paying attention in that last battle? What part of 'I can't even stay conscious while fighting' didn't you get?"

Gendo didn't react at all to her raising voice. "That's not a sufficient reason to quit," he commented. "You have yet to even be truly injured."

"I'm not good enough. I'll just get hurt and let you down sooner or later."

The boy glared. "You should have tried harder," he said. Then he turned away and left.

Maya sat at her desk for several minutes in disbelief. That boy… The first time he'd spoken to her, and it was just to chew her out for not being good enough? "Jerk!" she muttered. "Ritsuko was right. That's all he really is. A jerk or a retard." She stood up and grabbed her bag.

She left the school building and looked around. This would be the last time she'd be here. It was better than the old school, she had to admit. Strasberg-sensei had been much cooler too; he actually seemed to be interested in teaching people things.

The yard was empty, which was a little odd. Maya sat down on a bench for a few moments, staring up the sky. "I really should have told Ritsuko about the piloting thing during lunch," she muttered. "What's she going to say when she finds out? What will she think of me if she finds out that I knew? What… what would happen to her?"

She couldn't help but imagining either of the Angels easily eviscerating Eva-01, with Ritsuko inside. Her mind's eye would occasionally generate the image of the plugsuit, torn and battered; the only thing still remotely recognizable from the ordeal.

She shuddered and stood up.

"I need to pack," she decided. Maybe that would distract her.

**3897:55:34**

* * *

><p>Gendo lay back on the couch. "This is pointless, Doctor," he said.<p>

Katsuko took a few breaths and looked around her office. She'd requested special leather furniture to make the room more comfortable, she'd painted the place to make it more soothing, and she'd arranged and rearranged everything in perfect accordance with feng shui. None of it helped her urge to kill the kid. 'I know,' she thought. 'The Commander still won't give me permission to ask you anything useful.'

She reached into her desk and produced a notepad and pen. "Don't be so defeatist, Gendo." She considered a few moments, trying to think of a question that she hadn't asked before. Well, a question she was allowed to ask. "Have you talked to your former co-pilot?" she asked finally.

"After school today."

When their sessions had first started, Katsuko would normally wait a few seconds after Gendo stopped talking, in case he was going to volunteer more information. She had learned quickly that he never actually did. "I see. What did you say?"

"I told her she should have tried harder."

"At being a pilot?" Katsuko was surprised. Gendo was willing to talk about his opinions? To someone he barely knew? This was completely unlike him.

"Yes."

"Well, why?" Katsuko stopped doodling on her notepad and prepared to actually write down the things Gendo might say. This could be important.

"Because she should have."

'If I kill him, I'm out of a job.' Katsuko shut her eyes. "Why do you think that?"

"Doctor Ayanami says she didn't try very hard. And she only ever fought two Angels anyways. She acts like they're super-dangerous, but… I think she just doesn't think in battles." That was more than Katsuko had ever heard from Gendo in one round before.

"Uh, but surely you can understand that? The girl must have just been panicking, after all. It's to be expected, isn't it?"

"I don't panic." Did he have any emotions, Katsuko wondered. She'd never seen him have any, but surely there were some. No one could possibly be completely emotionally numb. Not as long as Gendo had been.

"Why not?"

Gendo didn't answer. The rest of the session went as Katsuko had expected it to from the beginning: as poorly as possible. She ended it five minutes early when she realized that she wasn't going to get anything new out of the boy. The only additional information she had was that he didn't panic. She suspected that whatever was wrong with him caused that.

**3897:00:00**

* * *

><p>Maya stopped in the hallway to her apartment. Captain Soryu stood at her front door, knocking on it. 'Great.' Maya stepped forward, waving slightly. "Uh, Captain? I just got here."<p>

Asuka swung around, smiling. "Oh, hi Maya! I just came to say goodbye, you know… I know we didn't exactly talk much, but… well, I thought I should." She shifted awkwardly. "I'm sorry we didn't get to talk more, by the way... I've been kind of busy settling in."

"Oh," said Maya. "I… I guess you can come in for a few minutes." She fumbled for her keys and opened the door. The beautiful captain stepped inside, and Maya followed her. "Do you want something to drink?"

"I'm fine," she said. The captain sat down at the dining table, smiling at Maya. "You know, just the other day I finally found out why we called you in."

"Huh?" Maya looked at Soryu uncertainly. "What do you mean, 'why'?"

"Well, I mean, you have to admit it's a little odd grabbing a random fourteen-year old girl from out of the city when we could have gotten someone who lived close by, don't you think?" Asuka leaned forward conspiratorially. "So clearly, you were picked for a reason, right?"

Maya frowned as she poured herself a glass of water. "I guess so…" She sat down, and tried not to sound too curious. "Why was I picked?"

"Apparently, your mother was a volunteer here about a decade ago. She helped design a lot of Eva-01's features."

Maya looked incredulous. "My mother didn't volunteer here!" she protested. "They never mentioned that at all! My grandparents told me she'd won a trip to America and died in a plane crash."

Asuka gulped. "I… I'm not trying to cause trouble. It's in our records. Ibuki Mari, right?" She continued when Maya nodded. "She did work here. She was hoping that you'd be the pilot, and requested you got the chance to. She died in some sort of accident, so… I think Sh- the Commander calling you here was his way of honoring her request."

Maya suddenly understood. "So this is it, huh? I'm free to leave, but I get to go on a dozen guilt trips beforehand? What's next? Does it turn out that Commander Ikari really is my father too, and that if I leave I'm ruining my one chance to get to know either of my parents?"

"What? No… I just thought you'd want to know," Soryu said. "I… I came here to offer you her full record." She took several folded-up papers out of her jacket. "They're a higher clearance than you're allowed to have, but I don't care. It's… it's probably got more on there than your grandparents would have told you even if they had been honest, and… and it's got several pictures." She held them out to Maya. "I'm sorry you had such a bad time here. I don't know if I could do any better, so I won't judge you. I hope that life gets better when you get back home."

Captain Soryu dropped the papers on the table and left the apartment. Maya stared at them for a long time.

"Stupid mind games," she muttered. "That's… that's cheating. You offer me all I can ever know about my mother and say my grandparents didn't tell me the truth, Gendo tells me I don't try hard enough, the doctor picks Ritsuko for my replacement, and the Commander tells me the truth whenever I ask." She sighed. "That's. Not. Fair."

It was not much of a surprise the next day when Maya discovered that Rei had never actually cancelled any of her accounts and hadn't even arranged for her to leave the city. And, Maya decided after the fact, it might have been worth it to see her friends smile in surprise when she walked into the class. Maybe.

**3880:04:25**


	9. In which Asuka has dinner

**In which Asuka has dinner, and...**

_"I don't know if you've ever noticed this, but first impressions are often entirely wrong." - The Bad Beginning, by Lemony Snicket_

A couple hours after visiting Maya, Asuka walked into the restaurant, looking around uncertainly. The idea of meeting a superior officer for dinner in such a fancy place had never crossed her mind. And if it had, the idea of it being this superior officer would have been considered briefly, and then laughed at. Still, it was an interesting idea, she'd give it that.

Vice-Commander Nagisa was giving instructions to a waiter when she noticed him, and she quickly walked to the table he'd picked out. This whole place was well beyond her budget, where the hell did he get this kind of money? And why would he waste it for a business meeting?

"Vice-Commander!" she said to announce herself.

"Captain Soryu," Kaworu responded, smiling brightly as ever.

"Uh, this is…" she looked around again, and couldn't come up with a word. "Wow."

"Presentation is everything."

"To be honest, sir, a couple of meat bowls would be good enough," Asuka said. She looked around again. The walls were decorated with art from the nineteenth century, mostly Japanese, but there were a few particularly famous pieces from other countries. There wasn't a live performer, but soothing music was being played, and Asuka was pretty sure it was from the nineteenth century too. It was all very beautiful and elegant, but completely overwhelming to her.

"Yes, well, this won't be standard procedure," Kaworu said, a hint of laughter in his voice, "just one bit of extravagance to impress until we get to know each other better and can rely on personalities, not appearances."

Asuka narrowed her eyes, feeling quite confident that she'd lost the Vice-Commander somewhere. "Uh, okay…" she said at last, trying to sound confident and then changing the subject quickly. "So, uh, about this new Eva armament…"

"Of course," Kaworu said brightly, reaching down into a bag he had at his feet.

"The designs won't put the pilots' wellbeing into any danger, will they?" Asuka asked. Gendo was heavily injured already, and Maya's replacement would be completely new, and the other one... hadn't fought Angels yet. She briefly considered mentioning Maya's quitting to Nagisa, but decided he'd already know, and would probably already know who would replace the girl.

"No more than usual," Kaworu said. The laughter in his voice was gone. He held up a large white binder, stuffed nearly to the breaking point by pages of various colors. Asuka wondered how anyone could come up with so many design ideas for such a simple robot.

"Oh, sorry, I uh… I tend to jump right into business," Asuka said, blushing brightly. Thinking about the suffering of children did not whet the appetite.

Kaworu nodded understandingly, and began. "The vast majority of the things you'll see in there are weapons, but there are a few modular armor models."

That was a relief. The idea of modular armor had been thrown around a few times at Nerv Germany, but they hadn't heard back from HQ about the idea before Asuka had left. If they could start working on those immediately, the Evas would be more protected.

"They have armor proposals designated with every letter in the combined English and Cyrillic alphabets," Kaworu added, sounding a bit disparaging of so many concepts.

Asuka flipped through them quickly, making a few simple opinions on each one but resolving to give all of them a better look as the evening went on. Some of them did seem quite impressive. "I can see R&D has been quite, uh… thorough."

"Unfortunately," Kaworu agreed. He leaned in, conspiratorially. "Please, as a favor to me, don't approve the F-Type armor."

Asuka flipped back to the beginning of the armor section and flipped through it again. "D… E… F-Type…" She paused, staring at it properly now. "It's like a giant potato peeler," she muttered. "Are all these armor blocks even functional?" she asked after a minute of staring.

The F-Type armor's (drawn around Eva-01 as a sample) crimes began with the coloring. Magenta and orange colored pencils had been used for coloration, and Asuka cringed merely looking at it. Several sections of it, particularly the upper legs and shoulders, seemed to be weighed down unnecessarily by blocky armor, and Asuka could scarcely believe such an outfitted Eva would be able to move. Worst of all, a pylon was raised up in front of the Eva's face, something that would clearly obscure visibility. Asuka shook her head.

"What's the impact on the muscle packages from rotation and wear and tear?" Asuka asked. Kaworu didn't answer, and Asuka realized he had no clue.

"As you can see, not all submitted designs were… sane."

"I can see that! These numbers are off the chart… The energy we'd have to expend just to make this thing move… Who proposed this? I want him fired!"

Kaworu grinned a little. "Don't be too hard on him. Watanabe also designed the specifications for B- and D-Type equipment. You'll find them much more to your liking. Maybe S-Type too, though it's hard to say."

Asuka flipped a couple pages back to the D-Type equipment, which was designed to help Evangelion units withstand massive amounts of heat, and the B-Type equipment, for aquatic use. S-Type turned out to be a jetpack. Asuka asked for a pen and crossed that one out ("way too flashy, and the fuel we'd expend…") and the F-Type equipment, but signed off on B- and D-Type.

The rest turned out to be a mixed bag. Some were definitely good, but a lot of the others looked like they'd need to be examined by the Magi computer system that Nerv used before she could be sure if they'd work or not. "Rei would throw a fit if I approved something that scratched up the Eva's paint jobs," she explained jokingly.

"Then maybe we should look at the regular weapons? There're all kinds of designs. Swords, spears, guns… I don't even recognize the inspiration for some of those weapons."

Asuka grinned. "I think we definitely need more melee weapons," she said. "Something quick to attack, and malle-" She stopped. "Oh, the food's here!" she said. She wasn't sure what she felt about Kaworu ordering for her, but she'd give it a chance.

"I hope you're hungry," Kaworu said. "This is only the appetizer."

Asuka looked at the large plate that had been set down between them and the food that was on it. This was an appetizer? But then she noticed the wine bottle, and that was a much happier addition to the table than the food. "I see you use the wine and dine tactic that all superior officers use, Vice-Commander Nagisa," she muttered.

"If you don't want it-" Kaworu began.

She took the bottle and began pouring. "For future reference, a beef bowl and a beer will do just fine." She winked and took a "sip".

"I know, but as I said, the first meal in a working relationship should be the fanciest."

Asuka stopped smiling as she thought back. "Yeah… First impressions are always the most important ones."

"It's sad, isn't it? A first impression might go hideously badly, but it's the one that sticks. The incompleteness of the information we obtain about someone the first time we meet them taints the relationship forever... sometimes for good, sometimes..."

Asuka kept remembering. "You're right. I remember the first time I set foot here, when I was little. I was a 'haffu', half-white, half-Japanese. It wasn't pretty. People would make fun of my hair, or eyes, or weight. They thought I'd be loud, overbearing, and constantly eating Big Macs or something. I know I was a bit loud as a child, but…" She sighed, and lifted her wine glass ironically. "To first impressions?"

"To first impressions!" Their wine glasses met and clinked, and both drank.

"You know, you're different from what I'd imagine a Committee member to be like…"

"I really only represent the Committee," Kaworu explained. "I'm not a high-ranked member."

"Oh. Sorry, it's just, the Commander…"

"He doesn't like me."

"Shin- Commander Ikari tends to be like that with people he doesn't know," she explained. "Uh, where did you live before this?"

"I was at the Committee Headquarters, in Germany, working on budgetary issues. When the position was created to monitor Ikari's spending habits, I was a shoe-in."

Asuka smiled. "Ich liebte Deutschland. Es war weit weg von Japan."

"Warum bist du gegangen?" Kaworu asked.

Asuka had already finished a few glasses. "It had a lot of bad memories. Sometimes you need to reinvent yourself."

"What could have been so bad?"

"Fear, for one thing. Someone else, too. I dated someone here. It didn't work out."

Kaworu understood right away. "The Commander," he said.

"H-how? Did he…?"

"No. I just figured it was probably someone here, and no one else seemed your type. Well, he doesn't either, but… he looks like he could have been once. Time changes people, though. We all can drift apart."

"Does anyone else know?" Asuka asked nervously.

"Not that I'm aware of," Kaworu reassured her.

"Could you…"

"Keep a secret? Of course. But… some part of me thinks you two could be together again." Kaworu smiled even more broadly than usual. "Though of course, I am a hopeless romantic."

"I know he's not the man I used to love, and I'm not…" She gulped. "I

never actually knew what I was to him."

"I suspect, Captain, that you were the only person who could understand him." The unspoken words were there, if anyone would know, it would be him. The only survivors.

"I thought so as well," Asuka said. "That's why I ran away, I think."

"You shouldn't run away," Kaworu said. "If you understand and care about him, then you should pursue him. He will destroy himself with guilt otherwise."

"Without me he'd already be dead," Asuka said, chuckling. "I… I think we're alike, y'know? Alike, but too different." She frowned suddenly. "I think I'm drunk."

"Perhaps. A shame, because we never really covered all the designs."

"Huh? Oh!" She flushed with embarrassment again. "What should I sign?"

Kaworu held out several dozen pieces of paper and had her place her signature upon them. Asuka didn't look at any of them. "Would you like help getting home?"

"Yeah… I… Ani- A friend says I'm a walking traffic violation when I'm sober. If I drive drunk I might start Third Impact or something."

They left, Kaworu paying the bill quickly, and were soon at Asuka's unremarkable apartment. They paused by the front door.

"Thanks for being a gentleman," Asuka said, leaning in and kissing him on the cheek. Kaworu blushed. And then she opened the front door, smiling.

**3892:00:00**


	10. In which nihilism is the word of the day

**In which "nihilism" is the word of the day**

_"There's no future for you." - God Save the Queen, by the Sex Pistols_

Agano Kaede looked over at the new girl and her friends and smirked.

Ooi Satsuki followed her gaze. "Ugh, you're staring at them again?" She brushed some of her hair back, looking at it critically. Like several other girls lately, she'd taken to dying her hair (in her case, a particularly light brown). It was a lot cheaper than other ways of looking different. Clothing had become so expensive.

"Yeah, well, it's just funny."

Aoi Mogami pushed up her glasses. "You've been saying that for awhile now, Kae-chan. What's so funny about them?"

"Oh! I guess you don't really know." Kaede gestured for both girls to lean in and began explaining. "You both know Aoba's older sister, Miki, right?"

The other two girls nodded, not quite sure where this was going to go, and not entirely sure that they cared. Kaede brought up all sorts of stupid things. This would probably be one of those, and they'd have to laugh before she would finally drop it and let them talk about something interesting.

"She hangs out with my older sister, you know."

Satsuki and Aoi nodded again, hoping Kaede would get to the point so they could get back to their lunches.

"One date I got to see the Aoba apartment, and this is what makes it funny. Turns out Aoba has a little brother too. The kid was hospitalized after that first Angel attacked; injured in the battle or something. And now Shigeru-san is hanging out with the girl who didn't kill the Angel fast enough to save his little brother." She giggled a little. Neither of the other girls laughed. "Well? Isn't that funny?"

"That's really kind of sad, Kae-chan," Mogami said. Kaede wasn't really surprised. The girl found everything depressing. She too had dyed her hair (a blue-black) because she said it fit the way she felt better. Satsuki had quipped that Aoi had looked pathetic beforehand and that the dye hadn't changed much.

Ooi shrugged. "I'm sure the kid'll recover. I saw the Angel's body when my dad drove us home. If that thing didn't kill him right away, it doesn't look like it could have done anything major."

"Yeah, but I still feel bad for him." Mogami looked down at her lunch of stupid ramen noodles. Again. "Ugh, does anyone want to trade?"

"I still have my egg left," Kaede volunteered. "What flavor ramen?"

"Pork."

"Okay." The two girls exchanged lunches quietly. Satsuki shook her head. They did this every other day, always bringing the same lunches because their families couldn't afford anything else. Most people couldn't. The world's food supplies were entering their yearly recession again. At least in a couple of months the Siberians would have quite a large crop grown.

Kaede was still staring at the group around Maya. "I thought she was leaving," she muttered. "I guess she just said she was for the attention."

"Kae-chan, leave off," Satsuki said. "She is the Commander's daughter, after all."

It was Kaede's turn to exchange glances with Mogami. They'd both (well, okay, just Mogami) explained that Maya could only be the Commander's daughter if she'd been kidnapped after Second Impact, which was much more unlikely, but she'd refused to listen, convinced that there was no reason that Maya'd be a pilot otherwise.

"If you have to be the Commander's kid to pilot," Mogami whispered, "then explain Rokubungi."

"Maya's fraternal twin," Satsuki replied. "He looks even more like the Commander than she does, after all. It only makes sense."

"You're worse than that Kaji kid. At least he doesn't take it seriously…" Kaede dug into the egg, relishing every bite. "At least, I think he's joking." She giggled a bit. "I think he's doing it to get Ibuki's attention, don't you think?"

Aoi shrugged and led the conversation in a different direction.

**3876:13:52**

* * *

><p>Yamada Daisuke opened the letter hurriedly. His grandparents had given it to him when he'd gone home for lunch, but he had decided to get to class so he'd have something entertaining to do during the literature section. Since Strasberg-sensei was busy talking about some dumb, happy, kid-friendly book, like all the others they'd read in school, he barely even had to hide it.<p>

_Dear Daisuke,_

_My business in Hannover is nearly concluded. I have bought my tickets and will be coming home soon. As you requested, I have obtained several photographs, and as I will be flying home on a different route (to Bucharest, then over the Pole to Tehran, then New Delhi, Changsha, and lastly Saga), I will attempt to get more during my layovers. I am sure you will find them far more beautiful than the photos I took while in Nevada last year._

_Europe is very nice this time of year, as the snow has finally melted and the birds are singing again. It's amazing how quickly they changed their migratory patterns, but even listening I can tell that there used to be many more kinds of calls in the chorus. Thousands of species have died, it seems, but they haven't even begun accounting for which ones are gone._

_Ugh, that turned rather depressing, didn't it? I'm sorry. My colds always leave me a little down. I hope you're in good health, though._

_I have arranged for a "Captain Soryu" to escort you to my ship when I arrive. Hopefully, if my planes and ship are not delayed, I will be arriving the twenty-sixth of July. I regret that they made school an all-year activity a few years ago, for otherwise we could enjoy your summer vacation._

_Your loving uncle,_

_Kaito_

Daisuke smiled to himself and folded the letter back up again. His uncle, one of Nerv Section 2's most respected workers, would finally be coming home. The coming Sunday was looking to be the best day ever.

**3874:49:34**

* * *

><p>People move slowly, but that's alright, for the Earth moves slowly too. Most of the time. The advent of Second Impact had, like First Impact before it, heavily affected the rotation, climate, and geography of planet Earth, and few people had moved from their homes, despite all the hardship they faced.<p>

The most affected region was Antarctica itself. Whatever Angelic weapons had touched down there, the effects had been disastrous. The ice cap had been blown away, and the resulting waters had flooded the world. The continent itself had been turned into a strange red liquid that defied normal physics. The only thing that kept the ocean life alive was that it had been diffusing into the seas nearby very slowly.

A year after the explosion, a new ice cap had begun forming to replace the old one, but near French Polynesia. The old North Pole slowly melted into a temperate sea, and a new one began forming over the Arabian Peninsula, nicely ending all Middle Eastern conflict at the cost of creating thousands of refugees. Well, thousands more than expected, anyways. Worse on the polar front, where the Antarctic polar ice cap had contained fourteen million square kilometers of ice, the Arabian polar ice cap wasn't even two and a half million. The sea levels rose hideously.

Australasia lost all population and most artificial constructions following the attack, but the environment began to recover, and the new weather patterns led to an immense rain forest where the Outback had once lain. People began to move there, to conquer the continent once more, and life actually felt like it could get better.

Most of southern Africa had been destroyed too, but Africa became a continent stretching across an arctic and a temperate zone, and while chaos followed initially, stable nations crawled out of the chaos, and they turned to Europe to find out what happened. Europe, now a true landmass and not a mere peninsula, had suffered immensely in its new domain, but eventually it too recovered, and the nations there had created the Committee and Nerv's predecessor, Gehirn.

The Americas had moved into the tropics, but the rainforests had been destroyed by Second Impact, and a vast plain incapable of growing anything stretched around the new Amazon Sea. Argentina was the only temperate region, and the only one capable of supporting mankind. People starved. North America fared little better, for while the immediate environmental devastation was limited in comparison, slowly but surely the Great Plains became a dry waste.

Southeast Asia was fine, a little sunken but as much of a jungle as ever. Southeast China sank, and the rest remained desert, stretching all the way into Kazakhstan. The jungles of India became forests. Siberia became farmland. Japan barely changed at all; such a mountainous terrain barely sank whatever the sea level, but now sat in permanent summer.

The world was barely capable of holding the three billon people it had left, and even then there would have to be massive migration. But people don't move. They find home, and they'll stay there, come hell or high water. Or, more appropriately, come heaven AND high water.

* * *

><p>Shigeru spread out on Ritsuko's couch, stretching. "Another day, another afternoon where Maya gets to suffer."<p>

Ritsuko glared at him. "Don't put it like that," she said. "It can't be that bad for her if she's staying… can it?" She looked to Kaji and Makoto for support, but they were looking at one of Kaji's stupid magazines, this one about alien abductees and what probably ended up happening to them.

"How could aliens and humans breed with each other, anyways?" Makoto asked Kaji.

"Probably they just insert alien DNA into some poor woman and then the alien DNA makes a new baby that's sorta-alien."

Ritsuko grumbled and turned on the TV. "I think I got a kid who might be interested in joining up with our band, Shigeru. She's named Zeppelin and she can play all sorts of instruments."

Shigeru didn't answer, looking in the general direction of the TV but not really paying attention. "I wonder if the space between Angels will be bigger this time around. Nine days isn't enough time for training."

"Can we not talk about it?" Kaji asked. "It's bad enough living in fear, let's not make things worse by considering the logistics." He sighed. "I wish my dad didn't work at Nerv. We could move out of town and wouldn't have to worry about it at all."

"Yeah. You could live in Greenland and farm watermelon and be completely oblivious when the world suddenly ends and everyone dies. Sounds like great fun."

"What's wrong with farming watermelons?"

Shigeru glared. "It was just an example. Would carrots be more pathetic for you?"

Kaji shrugged. "I still wouldn't be thinking about it. Wouldn't it be worse if an Angel won but it would take five minutes and we'd spend all that time knowing we were going to die? At least being caught unawares wouldn't be so frightening."

"I thought we weren't going to talk about this," Ritsuko muttered, flipping past a science channel talking about the latest failures in working with purely artificial gametes. "Wanna play a video game or something instead?" She looked at her old Sega Dreamcast, one of the last consoles to enter the market before Second Impact, and thus, one of the last consoles made.

"We've played them all. We should save up and buy one of the new ones that came out last year. The Nintendo one looks pretty cool."

"Cool, but expensive." Ritsuko sat down. "Ugh…" She flipped to a different news channel.

"Heavy Chemical Industries has recently invited people from several different organizations to their conference for their latest product. Shockingly, the conference will take place close to the ruins of Old Tokyo, and rumors suggest that it will be a giant robot designed to rival the Evangelion. Our attempts to meet with a Nerv spokesman failed, although at least one worker who wishes to remain anonymous stated that Nerv is unconcerned about the rumors."

The kids exchanged glances, some smiling. If this project succeeded… Maya just might be able to get out of piloting after all.

**3873:05:36**

* * *

><p>japaneserockergirl: Thanks for all your reviews! I am glad you are enjoying this story!<p>

Hugh Haiter: Your critiques are important, and I _am_ aware of both. Concern number one will be addressed. As for concern number two, Chapter 4 I believe notes that Asuka is dyeing her hair. As for her being friends with Rei, the circumstances of their meeting are vastly different. For one thing, neither had the particular mental issues of the TV series. For another, no Evas were involved.


	11. In which Nerv makes a discovery

**In which Nerv makes a discovery and a plot**

_"Some fossils in the ancient Burgess shale are so alien that we can't determine which end of the creature is up, and yet these monsters evolved right here on Earth from the same origins as we did." - Jonas Forsberg_

Toji scrolled through the data that had been collected on the past two Angels. Ninety percent of it was complete gibberish. At one point the Magi computer system was completely convinced that the Third Angel had massed over two million times ten to the fiftieth power kilograms. This was only more than a dozen orders of magnitude larger than the sun, which was more reassuring than the weight of the Fourth Angel.

Toji wasn't a physicist, but a book he'd skimmed through a few years back gave him the impression that something couldn't be as (relatively) small as the Angel and weigh that much without completely screwing up the planet and probably collapsing into a black hole.

The rest of the data wasn't much better. Whenever the Magi could agree on a particular interpretation of the data, it was even more impossible than the mass. The best interpretation that Toji could come up with was that the Angel was somehow messing around the Magi sensors, but even that didn't account for everything.

Hikari walked by, holding a collection of books.

"What are those for?" Toji asked. Some seemed familiar.

"Oh, these are just college books," Hikari explained. "I never got around to selling them after that last semester." She looked at one critically. "I hated that required year of science. Biology sucked."

"Can I borrow that?" Toji asked. "Maybe it'll help me understand these stupid Angels better."

"What if they're war machines?"

"We borrow from nature to build things. Maybe they do too." Toji flipped through the book. "Boring stuff on evolution, boring stuff on single-celled life, boring stuff on… protists? What the hell is a protist?"

Hikari rolled her eyes. "I don't think you'll be getting anything useful out of that book if you barely know biology."

Toji kept flipping through it. "Huh. You know, the third angel was kind of like a daddy long-legs." He looked at the page on Arachnea for a little while, before concluding that the Angel had nothing in common with spiders except appearance.

But he kept going past examples on specific creatures, and found himself in the chapter on DNA. It looked stupid but… He looked up at the computer screen. "Four wavelengths; blue with red, green with yellow… Four base pairs; A with T, C with G…" He made a note of it, and then had a random idea.

The Magi had a complete record of the Human Genome Project and were entirely capable of comparing two sets of data. So Toji had them compare the wavelength information with human DNA. Two minutes later, the results came in.

Human DNA and the Angelic wavelengths were ninety-nine-point-nine-seven percent identical. That was only statistically impossible.

**3872:42:08**

* * *

><p>Computers aren't smart. For the first few decades after being invented, computers thought solely in terms of concrete ones and zeroes. Send an electrical signal, and the computer will detect it and 'think', "one". When it's looking and it doesn't get an electrical signal, and it'll think "zero".<p>

Run a few hundred thousand little detectors in there, to choose to send electrical signals or not based on what you put in, and suddenly a computer can do math, display colors, or blow up thousands of virtual Nazis. That's not fast enough, though. The computer can only receive "one", or "zero".

What if it needs to do something where it needs to get both signals at once?

Then take a jump into quantum mechanics. At such scales, scales which are barely observable, microscope or not, the world suddenly becomes a very different place. The scales lead to a world where nothing is defined without observation. Now instead of using simple bits of one and zero, use a "qbit", which is simultaneously one and zero.

Suddenly, calculations become a lot quicker.

The Magi were a trio of quantum computers. This alone would have made them among the best computers in the world; besides Magi computers, there were only twelve quantum computers in the world. Seven of them were used by various governments. The ones remaining were used by high-tech companies.

Nerv, though, had decided to get a leg-up on the competition. Ibuki Mari had created the first true artificial intelligence by borrowing human intellects and predispositions to help the computers. The first simply behaved as she did normally. The second took on most of her scientific qualities. The third, least used of the set, took on her concern for her daughter Maya.

If Maya ever found out, she'd almost certainly burst out laughing. She hadn't seen her mother since she was three years old. She'd thought her mother had died in a car accident until quite recently, and her memories of Mari suggested that she wasn't an especially concerned woman.

She was quite wrong about this.

After all, Mari had worked intimately with the Evangelion project until she stopped breathing, and even with her death she still cast an immense shadow over the project.

No one saw fit to tell Maya this. She was mostly in the dark about everything. No one saw reason to change that.

* * *

><p>Asuka handed the papers she'd received from Toji to Rei. "Look at this stuff," she said. "Can you believe this nonsense? Apparently we're super-similar to the Angels or something! It's blowing a coincidence out of proportion!"<p>

Rei glared at Asuka for a little while, upset that she kept barging into the office without a care in the world, but relented and looked at the papers. "You think this is a coincidence? Don't you even know how many genomes human beings have?"

"Okay, yeah, it's stupidly impossible for it not to be a coincidence. But what does that even mean?" Asuka crossed her arms and huffed angrily, but softened. "Do you know?"

The doctor considered for a few moments. "The best possibility is that the Angels have genetically engineered their warriors to resemble us as much as possible. Though I can't even begin to imagine why they would bother doing something like that. Unless they needed their biotech to survive on Earth for extended periods."

"Making them like us is failing miserably," Asuka muttered. "I've seen three of them and only one of them even looked remotely humanoid. What was the second one like?"

"A genetic abomination," Rei said. "Lots of things… all mashed together. Maybe… like an insect?" She shook her head. "It was even less refined than the ones that came after it. It might have been an earlier model, or a baseline they always construct. Or something."

"Great description. Can I see some pictures?"

Rei shook her head again. "They're classified. Still, I see your point. If they wanted to resemble us, they could probably do a much better job of it. It doesn't really matter though, does it? We just have to kill them." She started typing at her computer again. "I'm assuming you're going to stay here until I kick you out?"

The captain sat down on the desk. "Or longer!" she replied. "Come on, Rei. We used to be roommates. What's wrong with hanging out every now and again?"

"I'm busy. Get out."

"Uh... Right." Asuka left, sighing.

**3872:15:22**

* * *

><p>"Hey Lieutenant, how are repairs coming along?"<p>

Nakada Michiko and Matsuda Takeru looked up from a computer console on the bridge. Kensuke still couldn't believe Shinji had chosen to hire them (or, really, Toji). These two hadn't even been top of the class, they'd just been there. There'd been, what, eighty-six other people Shinji could have hired from that class? Or hell, anyone else in the world. Why those two, or anyone from one particular university study? Kensuke still thought it made no sense.

"Uh… " Michiko looked at the console again quickly, "They've fixed most of the torn ligaments in Eva-00 and have fully repaired Eva-01. We'll have everything fixed up in a couple more days, and we're all pretty sure that there's not going to be another Angel attack in that time period, so we should be good."

"We can't be certain though. An Angel could attack right now," Kensuke pointed out.

"Yes," Takeru agreed, "but at this point the pilot would feel like they slept on their neck funny, not like they had whiplash or something worse."

"So that's good enough?" Kensuke snapped. That was maybe unfair, but he didn't care. The repairs were taking way too long, in his opinion. It had been three days. There shouldn't be any major problems.

"Uh… it's the best we can do. We've had two repair teams around the clock, but it's not like replacing a tire. You should know that." Michiko rolled her eyes at Kensuke. Secretly he thought that that was all she was good at.

"We could… increase the repair teams, if you like," Takeru suggested. "Won't speed things up much, but…"

"Never mind," Kensuke said. He knew that Takeru was just trying to offer a suggestion that would make him go away. There really wasn't anything to speed stuff up, but he couldn't admit he'd started chewing them out for something they couldn't control. It was probably their fault for being incompetent, but... The point was, he'd lose respect, and they wouldn't listen even when they had done something wrong. He left.

Takeru and Michiko exchanged glances once he was gone.

"Some people don't handle power very well," said Michiko, conveniently ignoring her many years of being the most popular (and bitchiest) girl in school.

Kensuke, meanwhile, was muttering to himself. "It's not my fault Ayanami wants this all done in two days."

**3872:00:00**

* * *

><p>Raidon Watanabe wasn't a former student of Shinji Ikari. He was just another Japanese citizen, one who had signed up to join Nerv and was reasonably happy doing so. Not everyone had to have a tragic backstory, a dark secret, or a burning desire. Sometimes, people were people. And he was a person who worked for the research and development department of Nerv.<p>

He pulled up the computer models of the many proposals for future Evangelion models. While several of the models had not been accepted (only fifty percent of his had been, which was discouraging), many had been. Vice-Commander Nagisa had dropped the paperwork off with him, and then Doctor Ayanami had come by.

"What kind of armor do you have that can resist radiation?" she'd asked.

"Oh, that's A-Type armor. Inoue designed that… It didn't get app-"

"Do you have the paper for it? And a pen?"

Raidon nodded and handed her the sheet of paper. Rei took it quickly and signed the paper. "There," she said. "I want it built in three days."

Raidon had grinned at that request. "It can be done." He hadn't even noticed that Rei had signed it with Asuka's name.

Now, he was simply sending a memo over to the construction crew. He wasn't entirely sure how such a project would be able to be finished on such short notice, but that wasn't his problem. It did surprise him, though. Of all the threats Evangelions would be facing, radioactivity shouldn't have been one of them. What could Nerv be fighting that had radioactivity?

**3871:44:27**


	12. In which the mall is visited

**In which the phrase "bridge bunny" is almost used**

_"You had to live... in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized." - 1984, by George Orwell_

Shinji looked dispairingly at the papers strewn across his desk. For every one that he filled out correctly, three more were dumped onto the desk. The UN Committee saw no reason to give him any free time, and kept him "loyal" by keeping him too busy to do anything that they felt was wrong, or criminal.

For the most part, Shinji was all right with that arrangement, but lately it had begun to grate. He'd almost cleared his desk off the previous day when Kaworu arrived at around dinnertime with an entire stack of papers, apologizing and explaining that the Committee had only just forwarded them over to him and that Shinji didn't need to feel rushed or anything, he just felt that they should all be moved now before someone lost track of something.

Shinji hated Kaworu when he did stuff like that.

As he finished filling out another paper, someone knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Shinji called. The door was so far away that it was a miracle he could hear the knocking.

A lieutenant came in. The distinguishing color of the pips by her collar weren't visible yet, so Shinji had no idea what section she was in. He did recognize her, however. Idane Kimie. During the past two Angel attacks, she'd left her regular post and gone to Command to help some of the other workers accelerate any maintenance being done to the Magi.

The pips under her color were green. She was part of Section 2, then.

"Commander!" Kimie said brightly, saluting. "I came with some reports!"

"Joy."

"Oh, you don't have to sign them or anything," Kimie explained. "It's just a bit of information about the pilots' latest activities."

"We collect that?"

"Doctor Ayanami thinks it's absolutely essential. Anyways, our reports suggest that Gendo has been spending as much time underground as possible, only coming out of the Geofront for the schoolwork that Doctor Ayanami and yourself ordered. He even refused his apartment and just uses the barracks."

Shinji nodded slightly. Kimie noticed he looked a bit concerned but said nothing. It wasn't any of her business. Though, the last time she'd given him a report and he'd looked concerned, he'd been her teacher and she'd messed up horribly. This time, though, she couldn't have messed up.

Right?

"Maya is actually the opposite. She spends as much time as she can above ground. Today, for example, she finally got a day off and she hasn't come within several meters of an entrance to the Underground. We think she's not a big fan of being down here, but… I guess that was kind of obvious since she quit that one time."

Shinji still said nothing.

"Well," Kimie muttered. "That's pretty much it. Thanks for your time, Commander." She turned.

"Lieutenant, wait." Kimie paused, anticipating an order from the commander, not a question. "Uh… do you talk to Asuka much nowadays?"

Kimie sighed. "To be honest, no. We work in completely different departments, you know, and she's pretty busy with the bridge bu-workers."

'Dammit, Kimie, you can't use derogative slang for your coworkers in front of your mutual boss!' she thought to herself. 'Okay, it's not derogative, but…'

She realized Shinji had been talking.

"…with her more often."

Kimie guessed what the beginning of that sentence was and nodded. "Right," she said. "Is that all, sir?"

Shinji nodded. "You're dismissed," he said, smiling.

She left, wondering why he thought it so important that she rekindle a friendship with an old classmate.

**3849:02:25**

* * *

><p>The bell rang. For the first time in a week and a half, Maya was actually happy when it did. She gathered up the books she'd need that night and stuffed them into her bag, remembering briefly Rei's statement that schoolwork didn't matter. She almost decided to blow off homework, but… Ritsuko was class rep. She couldn't be friends with her if she didn't do the work.<p>

"You ready then?" Ritsuko asked. "We're heading to the mall."

"Cool!"

"Eh…" Ritsuko didn't look too enthused. "Oh, I didn't mention, but that one girl who wants to join the band- Zeppelin something- she's coming along too."

"Kyoko," a blond-haired girl said, walking up to both of them. Maya couldn't believe how many people in this class dyed their hair, but said nothing. "It's very nice to meet you, Ibuki-san."

"Hi," Maya said. "Nice to meet you too. What instrument do you play?"

"All sorts, but they want me for bass because they want you for drums." Kyoko grinned. "This will be so much fun!"

Maya turned to Ritsuko in shock. She'd never heard of that particular part of the plan for the band before. "I can't really play…" she protested.

"I'm sure it can't be that hard to learn," Ritsuko said. "Come on!"

The three joined the boys and set off to the mall. It was immense; the building alone looked like it could rival the Geofront pyramid in size. Maps were posted regularly, and even with them Maya felt lost. For most of the time, they just walked around, looking through the windows into the stores. Clothing, electronics, books... Every kind of store surrounded them, spread randomly through the mall.

Kaji, of course, had to go to a store that specialized in the paranormal, so they all dropped by a store with that particular theme to look around. Maya tried very hard not to giggle, and she could tell Kyoko was in the same situation, but before she could make an aside comment to her, Shigeru led her over to some sort of magnet thing. She watched briefly as he showed her how it "made" him stronger.

Then she went over to the magazines that Ritsuko and Makoto were looking at. "Aliens again," Ritsuko muttered. "I wouldn't mind Kaji's liking this so much if there was some new material."

Makoto looked over at her. "What would you expect then? Shinto spirits saving and-slash-or killing people?"

"Nah, I saw that a couple days ago."

"This place is bizarre," Maya said to both of them. "I can't believe people would take half of this stuff seriously." She looked critically at a bunch of model UFOs. To nobody's surprise, they were all completely different from one another and it was hard to believe that one species could have built two of them to use in comfort, let alone all of them.

Again though, she didn't feel quite right in the conversation, so she joined Kaji at the front desk.

"Whaddya mean you won't let me have a tab? I've been coming here for years!"

Then again, maybe not.

She dinked around a little by the healing crystals. A scab on her elbow looked a bit better afterwards, but Maya knew it had probably just healed a little naturally. They finally left that stupid store, but none of the rest were especially interesting, and conversation was always a little awkward.

Eventually, they left the store, but then they bumped into a different group of schoolkids.

"Oh, joy," Ritsuko muttered.

Maya looked at them. Three of them, the girls, were 2-A students. She didn't know them, but obviously they (Satsuki Ooi, Kaede Agano, and Aoi Mogami) all knew who she was. The fourth was older, someone she didn't know.

"Well, it's my little sister!" the boy exclaimed, ruffling Ritsuko's hair.

"Please don't touch me."

"And it's her boyfriend!" Satsuki Ooi added brightly.

"We haven't gone out in over a year," Ritsuko muttered. Kaji blushed a little. Maya looked at both of them in shock. She couldn't believe that those two had ever liked each other in that fashion. It just didn't seem like either of them. Of course, that was probably why they'd broken up.

"Who's this?" Kyoko asked Maya. Maya shook her head in confusion.

"Akagi Shiro. He's an upperclassman," Shigeru whispered.

"Let's run for it," Kaji whispered.

Everyone dispersed except Ritsuko and Maya, who felt abandoning Ritsuko was cruel. Considering all the stuff she had to hear for the next hour as Ritsuko's older brother and his three hanger-on's joked "with" her, she realized it might not have been the best idea.

**3847:35:41**

* * *

><p>Rei dug through the boxes she hadn't unpacked. This unused corner of her apartment was a mess, but she didn't really have a place to put things, generally. Today though, she was looking to see if a favorite dress of hers had survived the move. She wanted something good to wear in a couple days when Jet Alone was released.<p>

She didn't find it, but she did find an old notebook. She flipped it open, wondering why she'd kept anything like this. It wasn't labeled in a way to suggest it had anything to do with her Nerv job, so it had to be related to something else.

The violent sketches that stared back at her surprised her a little. She'd forgotten she'd ever drawn stuff like this.

She'd also forgotten that she'd color the victim's hair red.

**3847:30:00**


	13. In which terrorism is performed

**In which corporate terrorism is performed**

_"The discovery of nuclear chain reactions need not bring about the destruction of mankind any more than did the discovery of matches." - Albert Einstein_

A helicopter flew over the bright blue sea. Maya sat uncomfortably in the chair next to another one of her classmates Yamada Daisuke. Maya wasn't quite sure why he was there. Captain Soryu was in the front seat, next to the pilot, which was somewhat comforting. Maya had never been so far away from land before.

Daisuke smiled at her. "This is kind of fun, isn't it?" he asked. Those were probably the first words he'd ever said to her the whole time she'd been in Tokyo-3. She only knew his name from Asuka, who had introduced the two of them before they'd boarded the helicopter.

Maya sighed and looked out the window. There was a boat visible in the distance, presumably the one that the Nerv employee the Captain had mentioned was riding in on. She remembered the conversation.

"How would you like to go on a small day trip?" The captain had asked. "You'll have a great time with me."

Maya had smiled, of course, because she and Soryu barely spoke at all. "That sounds great," she'd replied. "Where are we going to go?"

"On a helicopter ride. Just a nice sight-seeing thing. Oh, and we'll stop off on a boat before we turn around. You'll have a great time."

"Is anyone coming with us?" Maya had asked, hesitating at the prospect of having to put up with Gendo more than she had to. The boy was quiet and generally irritable, and not someone whose company she enjoyed in the least. And whenever they trained together, he did his absolute best to ignore her.

He was an infuriating jerk.

"Maya-san?" Daisuke asked again, concerned by her silence.

She swung back around. "Uh, yeah, I guess this is fun," she said. 'If listening to the helicopter blades rotate above us perpetually counts as fun.'

Slowly the helicopter lowered itself onto the deck of the boat. The captain turned around to the kids and smiled. "This is going to be such fun. Maya, you're going to be meeting one of my old college friends, Yamada Kaito. You'll like him a lot. I mean, I do. I skipped that stupid Heavy Chemical Industries press conference or whatever it was just to come see him."

'THAT'S why Daisuke is here!' Maya realized. "Oh! Is he your father?"

Daisuke looked down. "No," he said. "He's my uncle."

"Oh," Maya said. "Sorry."

Things were awkward for awhile after that. Maya knew from experience that a kid who reacted like Daisuke did had lost his parents. She had too, of course. Her mother, at least. So she let him sit by himself instead of forcing the conversation. 'It probably happened to him a lot more recently than I lost my parents,' she thought. 'I'd be sad still too, if I'd known my parents as well as he probably did.'

Shortly, though, the helicopter landed and all three of them got out. Maya couldn't help but be amazed by the boat. She'd never seen the military boats, and on the whole it was quite impressive. The deck itself was massive, and she was only seeing one half of it. The other was obscured by a large tower of smaller decks rising out of the boat; most of them were decked in radio equipment.

"It's new," Captain Soryu said, noticing Maya's look. "It can go from Australia to the Red Sea in…" She frowned. "I don't remember," she admitted. "It's fast though, trust me."

They kept walking until the captain started waving. "Kaito!" she shouted.

A man with light brown hair in a simple suit turned to the group. His eyes lit up right away, and he ran forward. He and Soryu shared a hug, which shocked both Maya and Daisuke. It was brief though, and they quickly pulled away from each other.

"It's been a long time," Kaito commented.

Asuka nodded. "Apparently we crossed in the air. I was coming here, you were going to Germany." She laughed a bit.

"We wouldn't have run into each other anyways," Kaito said, laughing too. "I was sent to the Committee headquarters. Hannover, not Hamburg. I met a potential pilot there," he added. "She's a nice kid, I guess."

"Wow..." Asuka said. Maya could tell right away that business wasn't exactly what Asuka wanted to hear, but she also felt that Kaito was probably being restrained for his own reasons. Perhaps because he was in front of his nephew.

Daisuke looked like he had a pretty good idea of the obvious attraction Kaito had for Asuka, though. He winked at Maya. She laughed a little. This made Kaito step back a bit.

Asuka turned to Maya. "This is Kaito Yamada. He's one of the chief workers for Section 2."

"I was Germany for awhile on business," he explained. "The Commander needed me to pick up a package or two for him."

"Couldn't they have just mailed them?" Maya asked, rightly but unfoundedly suspicious.

"You can't mail packages these delicate," Kaito said. "The Iranians are causing trouble again. We can't trust out packages to get through the mail unharassed."

"Oh," Daisuke and Maya said in unison. At least Maya knew someone else had been wondering what she'd asked.

Maya then noticed the large package that was by Kaito's feet. For a few seconds, she wondered what was in it, but didn't have the nerve to ask.

Asuka and Kaito made small talk for awhile, but Maya and Daisuke weren't interested. They looked over the rails at the deep blue sea, easily losing themselves in the waves that lapped against the side of the ship. Maya wished that the water was more opaque; it would have been nice to see the fish in the water.

Daisuke spoke first. "So… what's it like piloting?"

"You wouldn't like it," Maya said. "It's a lot of hard work for no reward."

"I dunno. We're alive, after all."

"That's really not enough," Maya muttered.

Daisuke shrugged. "If you say so. I bet being behind the controls would be a blast."

Maya shook her head and said nothing in response. Why didn't anyone believe her when she said that piloting wasn't worth it? What would it take?

**3806:42:11**

* * *

><p>Gendo was sitting alone in one Nerv's many hallways. They didn't need him to synch, but he didn't want to go back to his apartment. He hated it there. The deeper into Nerv he was, the happier and more at home he felt. Once he'd even tried to get permission to go to the lowest level, but it had of course been refused. Gendo didn't blame Shinji for saying no, because he never blamed Shinji or Rei for anything. He just didn't know why they'd said no.<p>

And now Rei was approaching him, her face betraying almost no emotion. There was but one flaw in her defenses; something in her eyes. Gendo thought she looked nervous. He looked up at her, as close to happy as he ever was. "Yes, ma'am?"

"The A-Type armor has been completed," she announced. "However, we are not entirely sure how successful it will be. Therefore, you will suit up in Eva-00, go to the surface, and power down until you receive further instructions."

The boy nodded. "Of course."

Rei sighed. "Also, you must be sure not to mention this training exercise to anyone else."

"Of course. I'll never speak of it again." This was an unusual command to be receiving, but it was not unprecedented and Gendo was sure that whatever reasons anyone would want Nerv's activities kept secret were good ones. After all, there were several secrets that still needed to be kept, or the public would panic. And as far as Gendo understood, Shinji's greatest concern was keeping the public calm in the face of utmost danger.

The doctor wasn't satisfied. "Not even to me or the Commander?"

The boy nodded, a bit surprised, though he didn't show it. It was unheard of to be instructed not to mention something to the Commander if he wasn't the one giving that order. This must be the most important mission Doctor Ayanami could think of. Gendo was so proud to be a part of it.

He barely even realized that the Doctor was already walking away, now completely satisfied with him and contented to ignore Gendo until he was actively needed again.

**3804:00:00**

* * *

><p>"Ladies and gentlemen, the greatest product of our generation is about to be unveiled!"<p>

There was applause, of course. Tokita Nozomi knew how to draw in a crowd, that was for certain. She had a very pretty smile too. That always helped get a man's attention. She'd spent all of her teenage years getting that smile right. And now here she was, the spokeswoman for Heavy Chemical Industries.

"Now, you have all heard the rumors of HCI's 'Eva-killer', and I'm pleased to announce that every one of those rumors is true."

One of the walls of the conference room lowered. A giant robot stood on the other side, clearly powered down. Its main color was red, except for two gray eyes and some decals, which produced an unnerving effect. Everyone applauded anyway, though.

"This is Jet Alone! It is superior to the Evangelion models in dozens of ways!" Nozomi continued. "It will be the invincible model!"

A hand rose immediately. "In what ways?" a person asked calmly.

"Firstly, it does not depend on teenagers to work. Considering the instability of the pubescent, this alone is an immense improvement. In fact, it does not require a human pilot to reside in it at all. Instead, it operates purely by remote control, allowing a team of qualified specialists to make decisions divorced from immediate danger!"

The person sitting at the table didn't seem impressed at all. "That's it?" he asked.

"No, of course not! Whereas the Evangelion requires constant connection via wire, or it dies after a five minute battery life, the Jet Alone models have no such limitation! Each of them will have a fully functioning nuclear reactor with enough fuel to continue to operate for months!"

Another person raised her hand. "But I heard that the Evangelion have a special technology that is required to penetrate the Angel's shields. Do you have a similar plan?"

Nozomi didn't stop smiling for a moment. "I can assure you," she said calmly, "we will crack that last secret of Nerv before the month is out, at which point we will be quite capable of handling the rest of what the Angels throw at us.

"Besides, while Nerv might have those benefits right now, we all know that they're lacking in other respects." She held up a folder. "This documents Eva-01 going berserk against the Second Angel. How can we expect Nerv to defeat us when they can't control their own machines?"

More applause.

Someone shouted, "Down with Nerv!" and it became a chant.

Nozomi smirked to herself. Inviting the people who had no reason to be fond of Nerv had been a good idea. She turned to the complimentary table that had been given them, but saw to her disappointment that no one was there. They must be cowards, afraid to show up and face their just desserts after all these years of hogging resources and endangering minors.

Among more serious charges.

She cleared her throat a few times, and held up her hand. "Ladies and gentlemen… Ladies and gentlemen! Please, calm yourselves! We haven't even given you the first demonstration of Jet Alone's capabilities!"

Slowly, the chanting stopped, and everyone turned their attention to the giant robot. Nozomi whispered into her microphone. "Activate the project."

Jet Alone turned on, slowly, but it turned around quite quickly, and began to walk away.

The last thing any of them saw was a rocket of some sort suddenly colliding with it, and the explosion of the nuclear reactor it housed within its torso.

**3802:28:06**

* * *

><p>It was the first thing that Asuka saw when she got to her apartment and turned on the TV.<p>

**3802:00:00**


	14. In which the explosion looms over all

**In which the explosion looms over all**

_"Now the first time you kill somebody, that's the hardest." - Virgil, True Romance, by Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avery_

Gendo kneeled over the toilet, vomiting.

Rei watched him, unconcerned either about his condition or the fact that she was in a male restroom. She was slightly concerned about the filth in the room, and made a note to fire the janitors in charge of the area. But there were more important things at the moment. She turned to Raidon, who stood next to her, looking uncomfortable.

"As you can see," she said coldly, "the A-Type armor is flawed. Gendo wasn't ill until he went on the field mission."

Raidon glared. "A-Type armor protects the Evangelion unit from radiation, not the pilot. The Entry Plug is completely sealed to begin with. You couldn't irradiate it. Not here on planet Earth, anyways."

"There's no other reason for him to be ill," the doctor responded.

Raidon shrugged. "Maybe he ate something that disagreed with him. Maybe it's just a bit of motion sickness. Don't blame me. Not unless the A-Type failed the Evangelion unit. That's what it's designed to protect." He turned and began to walk away.

"I didn't say you were dismissed," Rei said coldly.

Raidon stopped and took a deep breath.

"Dismissed," Rei said after a minute of making him stand there. He walked away in angrily. She glared at Gendo. "What's wrong with you then? I was afraid you were contaminated. If it's not that, then what?"

Gendo vomited some more.

Rei swore under her breath and walked away. "When you empty your stomach, report to my office and I'll give you some medicine, then."

Gendo nodded a little, but stopped quickly. What could have affected him so badly? He couldn't think what it coul-

No, he could. He knew exactly what it was. As soon as he'd pulled the trigger on the prototype missile launcher that Captain Soryu had approved, and watched the explosion, he'd felt... sick. So many people, dead.

It was as if he'd been connected to each and every one of them, and then all of them were suddenly, irrevocably gone, because he'd cut the connections.

Now it was midnight. He'd eaten dinner at eleven o'clock, which was ridiculously late, because that was how it always was. But today even the plants felt like beings of respect, and as he bit into them he felt sick. Then he'd run here and had been vomiting up lunch and dinner. A disgusting state of affairs. Hopefully it would end soon.

When it did, he took a minute to wonder if Lieutenant Watanabe Raidon had actually been at Nerv, or if the Doctor had woke him up. He didn't care either way, it was just curiosity. Doctor Ayanami had a way of being cold to the people around her. He emulated that as best as he could, to make her proud.

Thus far, it hadn't been working.

**3792:00:00**

* * *

><p>Horaki Kodama walked into Shinji's office wearing black. He wasn't surprised to see the Horaki sister in mourning, but he was surprised to see her the very day after her sister's death.<p>

Shinji almost smiled at her, but checked himself. That didn't feel right, all things considered. "I… I'm glad to be able to meet you."

Kodama nodded, sitting down in the chair across Shinji's desk, rubbing at her eyes. "It's… I really wish we weren't meeting like this." She seemed close to tears. "Poor Nozomi…" she muttered.

"Yes. I have already sent Yamada and Asari to location. They're going to conduct as full of an investigation as possible, to determine exactly what happened."

"I'm sure it was the JSSDF," Kodama said coldly. "I know HCI and Nerv have always been rivals, but you are just a UN organization. Odds were our success would just mean our robots would replace Nerv-created ones, but Nerv itself wouldn't be threatened… The JSSDF though…" she trailed off.

"Yes," Shinji agreed. For years they'd been developing, wanting to kick the UN off of their islands and defend themselves solo. A robot force under their control would be enough to not only accomplish that, but to establish Japan as a world, or at least Pacific, power.

And, of course, Shinji genuinely believed that Nerv had nothing to do with anything.

"Uh… why did your employers call this meeting?" he asked after a moment.

"Former employers," Kodama corrected. "I'm leaving the company to focus on other matters..." Then she smiled a little, a fake smile, but a smile all the same. "But, there was a reason. You see, Jet Alone was a prototype, but it wasn't the only one we had. There's another model we still have. It works."

Shinji nodded a little. "I assume this means you're offering it to us?"

"Yes," Kodama said. "We're making a couple of adjustments so it can run off of the power supply if you'd like to leave the reactor off."

"The price?" Shinji asked, worried.

"It'll be high. Another reason they're my former employers is because HCI is about to collapse. Everyone's sold stock, no one's buying. We're barely worth pennies now, and at least three groups have begun to boycott everything we've made. HCI is dead."

The commander shifted uncomfortably. "I'll have to talk to the UN if we're talking about billions of yen."

"I'm afraid they are."

"I'll see what I can do," Shinji said. "How can I get back to you on this?" He reached into his desk and pulled out a notebook and pen.

Kodama handed Shinji a card. "Do hurry, Commander. If you take too long, there won't be an HCI left." She rose and left his office without waiting to see if he had anything else to say.

Shinji leaned back in his chair, and sighed. Then he took out his laptop, printed something out, and signed it.

TEMPORARY LEAVE OF ABSENCE FORM

Employee: Horaki Hikari

Duration: To the discretion of the employee

Reason: Death in the family

Signature: Ikari Shinji

**3782:52:39**

* * *

><p>Keita took off his glasses as they flew overhead, looking down on the world below them. The Nerv helicopter was comfortable but not made out of iron, so the pilot was holding them as high above the terrain as possible. It wasn't like Old Tokyo hadn't been irradiated dozens of times.<p>

Kaito almost yawned, but managed to hold it in. "See anything of interest?"

"Meh. There's not much to see now. All the emissions are over with."

Kaito frowned. Asari hadn't packed anything when the two of them had set off on this mission, and he didn't see him using any instruments. To be doing any kind of proper scanning, they'd need something. Human beings weren't exactly designed to see into the radio part of the spectrum.

"Anyways, there's a lot of metal around still, but it's all too damaged. You'd need a lab to make heads or tails of it, and even then it would have to be with HCI's help so we'd know what was what."

"So what are you saying then?" Kaito asked. He tried staring down, but couldn't see anything that particularly stood out. The wreckage of Jet Alone blended in perfectly with the city as far as he could see. He wondered briefly if this was going to be a regular assignment. He hoped not.

"I'm saying that the way things are right now, it could have been anything. Maybe Jet Alone was just unstable and it blew up on its own. Maybe someone sabotaged it."

"Dammit," Kaito whispered. "We can't have this going on now. If someone is sabotaging robots, they'll be going after us sooner or later."

"So what's Nerv going to do, you think?" Keita asked.

Kaito considered for a few moments. "I dunno," he said. "I guess it depends on how much danger the Commander thinks there is."

**3780:11:26**

* * *

><p>"What are we going to do then?" Toji asked at the inevitable Nerv meeting, held on the upper levels of their command center. Six of the seven most important members of Nerv were gathered; himself, Asuka, Rei, Kensuke, Kaworu, and Shinji. Hikari had of course not even arrived that day. She wouldn't be needed, not right now.<p>

"If it was a terrorist action," Asuka said, "the obvious course of action is to pull the kids out of school and keep them down here twenty-four seven."

"Not an option," Rei said. "Maya's synch ratio has been increasing more now that she interacts with her classmates on a proper level. Removing her would devastate her and possibly crash her ability to pilot. We can't possibly risk something like that."

"Sniper teams then?" Kensuke suggested. "To watch them at all times and keep them safe from suspicious individuals. One team per pilot… Hell, the team that watches Gendo won't have a whole lot to worry about."

"I'll approve it immediately," Kaworu said. "Right now at least the two are synching, right? They're in no real danger in an Evangelion unit." He turned to Shinji. "Is there anything else we need to worry about, sir?"

"We should increase security if possible," Shinji said. "The JSSDF are almost certainly behind this action, and I don't want to have them trying anything on us. We have to keep protecting mankind, and if they're this fanatical, I suspect they're not interested. Or, more worryingly, their project might be near completion."

"Worringly?" Asuka asked. "Surely they wouldn't be able to kick us out…"

"You'd be amazed," Rei said. "Worse, there are allegations that they kidnapped children during the aftermath of Second Impact."

Toji sighed. "I'm glad our company doesn't sink to those sorts of lows."

Shinji nodded. "Of course not. This is about humanity. Unless there's anything else we need to do, this meeting is adjourned."

Everyone stood up and left, except Asuka, who stared at her papers. "That's the second time I've heard you say that… Are you really that consumed by guilt?" she muttered.

**3779:26:08**


	15. In which a new pilot is about to arrive

**In which a new pilot is about to arrive**

_"Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live." - Norman Cousins_

The last few days had not been happy ones, Maya thought. The height of the awkwardness had come when the sniper teams had insisted on being allowed in the classroom at all times. They'd made Ritsuko and Gendo switch seats so he was further away from the window. They'd nearly attacked a kid who'd arrived five minutes late before they decided that no terrorists would be so short.

On the other hand, she'd managed to make a better friend in Daisuke, who was now eating lunch with them on a regular basis. The kid was completely enamored with his uncle, and sometimes bored the group with his recounting of the man's exploits. Apparently Yamada had been everywhere, even the Middle East before Second Impact.

The day Kaito had arrived, Maya had gone to his house to do math homework with him, and had been surprised. The apartment was in one of the more upscale parts of the city, and it was apparent from the moment that Daisuke had opened the door that they were very rich.

"I'm home!" Daisuke called out as he stepped in. No one answered. He yelled it out again, still no answer.

Maya followed hesitantly. "Maybe they're not home," she suggested.

Daisuke kicked off his shoes and beckoned for Maya to follow him. "Of course they are," he said. "My grandparents are probably just busy doing something else. It's kind of how they are," he explained.

"Oh, you live with your grandparents?" Maya asked. "I used to, before I came here."

The boy nodded. "Yeah," he said. "My mom died in childbirth, and I don't really know who my dad is." He led her through the entry hall and a dining room where an old woman was seated. She looked up critically at the two teens but said nothing and returned to her knitting. "Hi Gran," Daisuke said, but got no response.

He continued on, and Maya followed him, to his room, which consisted mostly of a bed and a desk. Three was also a chair, and a carpet. Nothing on the walls, nothing that suggested anyone actually used the room. It just sort of... sat there. "Um..." she started.

"Yeah, I know," he said. "Please just don't ask."

Maya sighed and sat down on the bed. "Um, right," she said. She shook her head. Looking back on it, she'd been surprised her grandparents hadn't told her the truth about things, but at least they had treated her kindly. The two of them went on to do the homework, and finished.

The next day, Maya had been a lot nicer to Daisuke, and Ritsuko had gone so far as to accuse Maya of having a crush on him. Maya, in turn, had blushed and protested that she couldn't possibly be interested in him. She wasn't. Like most boys, Daisuke was entirely too crude at times, though he did his best to hide it whenever there was a girl present. Picking his nose when no one was looking, scratching himself in awkward places.

Boys were stupid.

Maya had never, ever been interested in one. Not really. There had been the joking in elementary school, pretending to be boyfriend and girlfriend and holding hands or something, but that didn't really count. There'd been a few older men worth looking at, but never anyone her own age. When people asked if she'd get a boyfriend, she'd said simply that she was waiting for them to grow up. It seemed like a safe plan.

On the Thursday after Kaito's arrival in Japan and Jet Alone's explosion, Maya was sent a letter informing her that she would not be going to class that particular day, for reasons that would be explained in Nerv HQ. Naturally, of course, she abandoned all of hope of getting to classes without some difficulty, for an entire team of grown men with guns were camped in the corridor outside her apartment building. Jerks.

They escorted her quickly to the elevators that led underground; almost shooting a car that happened to be driving by just because it was there and could possibly decide to swerve off the road, slam on the gas and attempt to fit through a door big enough for one person, and crush Maya like a pancake despite the many bodies between itself and her.

Idiots.

**3712:27:42**

* * *

><p>Shinji Ikari looked at the gravestone sadly, remembering and trying to pretend that everything was going to be okay. It wasn't even a stone, really. It was a marker. There wasn't enough room for gravestones in the post-Impact world. Even people who'd died afterwards died knowing they'd simply be burned, rather than left to "waste" space.<p>

One marker among thousands.

They stretched out as far as he could see. Many were unlabelled. Entire social groups had died in the stretch of a few minutes, so how could anyone identify the bodies? The people who'd survived had been known to just kill themselves rather than face the world before them.

One marker among thousands.

One name among hundreds.

It lost all meaning, too. It was just a few symbols sketched into rock. That was all that was there. Nothing to say what she'd done, what she'd meant, who she really was. Date of birth? Even Shinji had forgotten it, and he'd never forgotten it when she was alive. Date of death? Unknown, but most simply looked here and thought of one month.

One marker among thousands.

One name among hundreds.

One date that didn't need to be said.

He'd never see her face again. Their photo albums had all been burned away. The wallet he'd had that day had been stolen. A picture he'd had in his suitcase had been left behind. All government records had been lost. She might very well have never existed as far as anyone knew.

One marker among thousands.

One name among hundreds.

One date that didn't need to be said.

One woman forgotten.

The part that made it most painful, he realized, was that he never learned. He always looked at the next grave over, always expecting it to bear HER name. Where the mother's name was at least present, something he could shut his eyes and talk to as if she'd never really left, even if it was ALL that was left, the complete and stark absence of the daughter hurt most.

It had become like clockwork. This was the part where he fell to his knees, trying not to cry. This was the part where he looked at the only thing he had left, trying to see straight despite everything. This was the part where he gave up and just sobbed like a child.

This was where he was. Every minute, every day, despite the best effort of every distraction, despite every kind word from everyone who ever found out, despite every effort to forget the women, here he was, venerating the only thing he had left.

One marker among thousands.

One name among hundreds.

One date that didn't need to be said.

One woman forgotten.

One man broken.

**3712:00:00**

* * *

><p>Maya pulled herself out of the elevator and marched into the bridge. The captain and Gendo were already there, both standing awkwardly. Soryu brightened when Maya arrived. "Good, you're here. Make yourself comfortable."<p>

The pilot considered sitting down in one of the chairs, but decided to move next to Gendo instead, to avoid looking particularly awkward. "Hello Captain," she said.

"Morning," said Asuka brightly, "I'm pleased to announce to both of you that we're finally receiving all of Nerv-03's Evangelion equipment."

Maya blinked in confusion and turned to Gendo. He clearly understood what Asuka meant, but wasn't going to let on, even in facial expressions. She turned back to Asuka, hoping for an explanation.

The captain understood, and continued. "Today, Evangelion Unit 02 has arrived."

Gendo smirked very slightly. "And the pilot?" he asked.

"Of course! She's… a nice girl, of course. A bit strange, but she knows her Japanese very well, and I hope you'll both help her settle in."

"Well, of course I will!" Maya replied. "I didn't even know there were any pilots besides the pair of us! Has she been training at all, or is she like me?"

"The pilot is not new," Asuka said. "She's been training for six years, you know. That's more than Gendo has, if I remember rightly." She turned to the boy expectantly.

Gendo said nothing.

"Well, then… We're going to go see her now, of course. Do you want to ride in my car, or would you feel safer in an armored vehicle?"

Maya blanched. "Oh please, let's take your car, Captain. I'm really tired of the guards. They just keep getting in the way of everything."

Asuka laughed. "I'm sorry," she said. "It's just that with Jet Alone, we're… pretty nervous. We don't want anything to happen to you."

"Nothing will," Gendo said confidently. "To me anyways…"

Maya gulped. "Could you at least tell them to be less blatant? I'm afraid to take a shower sometimes."

Again the captain laughed. "I'll see what I can do. Besides, Doctor Ayanami has pointed out that if terrorists had been planning to attack, they'd have seen our grossly inflated security measures and would probably just give up by now."

Maya wondered if she should point out that decreasing security measures might be seen as an invitation, but… Well, it wasn't as if the snipers were being gotten rid of, right? Just told to back off a little bit.

Then she decided to stop pondering, because Asuka was leading them up to her car, and babbling away about her favorite TV shows and how she was thinking maybe Maya would benefit from watching them, because they were soooo funny. Maya had tried watching one, but it was stupid and immature. All kids' entertainment was childish lately. She'd snuck to a used books store back home a few times and bought a few things from the '80s and '90s. Their idea of children's entertainment had been a bit more mature and more to her liking.

It was like adults thought they had to shelter kids. It didn't work. Even a girl like Maya had seen the aftermath of Second Impact. Her generation didn't worry about monsters under the bed. They worried about the monsters that walked the streets.

**3711:37:57**


	16. In which causality is abandoned

**In which causality is abandoned**

_"Each of us can manifest the properties of a field of consciousness that transcends space, time, and linear causality." - Stanislav Grof_

Kotonoha Katsuko's Report on Rokubungi Gendo:

Progress continues to be minimal.

Of course. I mean, I can't do anything with this kid. You know that, whoever reads these admittedly useless reports knows that I can't help him at all with as little information as I've been given. For example, when is this kid's birthday? Why is a birthday classified? That's stupid.

Today, Wednesday, July 29th, I think I contributed about 99.9% to a one thousand word dialogue. His word? "Goodbye." However, I can say with definite certainty that he flinched when the Jet Alone incident was mentioned. The kid has something resembling human emotions after all, this is great news, isn't it?

So be honest, Ikari-sensei. This isn't really about Gendo, is it? Is this something I'm going to suffer for? Did my talking in class that one time make you desperate for revenge, so you arranged to hire me to put up with the least human kid on the face of the Earth?

Seriously, you have to give me more to work with than this.

This is report number fifty-nine.

Just as useless as the rest.

* * *

><p>Three minutes, seventeen seconds into the drive, the car-phone began to ring. Asuka, who was swerving through thick Tokyo-3 traffic, turned to Maya. "Can you get that?" she asked.<p>

Maya nodded and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Who is this?" It sounded like one of the lieutenants. Suzuhara, maybe?

"This is the pilot of Evangelion Unit 01. Ibuki Maya."

"Oh, good. Asuka there?" He sounded very concerned, Maya realized.

"Yeah."

"Tell her to turn the car around and get back here. This is urgent."

Maya gulped. "An Angel?" she asked.

"Yeah." Suzuhara hung up the phone.

Asuka was looking at Maya, concerned. "We have to go back, then?"

"Yeah."

Asuka flipped a switch, and a siren turned on. Cars began to pull out of their way, and the captain performed a quick U-turn. Then she slammed on the gas. "An Angel just would attack today," she muttered. "It's like they know when we have something important going on…"

Twelve minutes later, Maya was in Eva-01, listening in on the discussions going on in the command center.

"This is bad," Asuka commented. "This thing is huge."

The Vice-Commander made a non-committal grunt, and said simply, "Every scan that your team has performed has produced conflicting results. This time, we're not even sure where the core is supposed to be."

"It's right there!" Asuka protested. She was obviously pointing at something, but communications were Sound Only right now.

"That's what it seems," Suzuhara agreed. "But we're really not sure at this point. More to the point, how the hell are we going to get up to it?"

"Uh… well…" Captain Soryu hesitated for some time. "Aida, is the B-Type armor completed?"

"We've got a couple of working models, but neither is designed for Eva-00. We can't send Ma-"

"We won't be." A visual of the captain with the command center in the background flickered on. Of the others, only the Vice-Commander was looking at the console. "Rokubungi?" Asuka asked.

Another visual turned on. "Yes?"

"We're going to send you an armor module. Your job is to retrieve it and take it to the harbor. Once there, inform the Second Child that she is to suit up in Eva-02, put on the armor, and find a way to attack the Angel. Then get ready to provide cover."

Gendo looked upset that he wouldn't get to fight the Angel properly, but nodded. "Yes, ma'am," he said simply. He turned off the radio, and a light on Maya's terminal informed her that Eva-00 had been launched.

"And me, ma'am?" she asked.

Asuka grinned. "We're giving you some B-Type armor. It'll let your Evangelion swim through the water. Go to the coast before suiting up though. It's not exactly designed for aboveground movement." She cut communications.

And then Maya saw the B-Type armor. It was designed to fit around Eva-01's armor, but she saw immediately that it was going to be difficult to put on. Quite a lot of the armor consisted of helium bubbles of some construction or another. Without it, Eva-01 would probably just sink to the bottom without any hope at all.

**3711:16:44**

* * *

><p>Maya stared up at the Angel in shock. It was every bit as huge as they'd said. The upper parts of its body passed through the clouds. Its head was white, with a long beak. Below it was a small red sphere encased in a tetrahedral cage. Its body was a collection of black structural supports forming strange shapes. Its two legs were connected by a small ring each to the main body, and the ring spun to lift the leg and move it forward. The legs were miles high, and trailed into points. Between them hung an immense sphere, shining with its own strange light. Helixes and spheres were everywhere on it, though the helixes defied Maya's attempts to follow them from one end to the other.<p>

Something behind the creatures head moved like a clock hand, ticking away slowly. With each move, a leg went forward and touched down. Where the legs met the water, ice began to form. Already half a dozen icebergs had sprung into the tropical waters.

A dozen ships floated in the water nearby, trying to keep away from the immense Angel. They were clearly the best in the fleet, but Maya saw they weren't moving fast enough. A moment later, a leg struck through one of the ships, freezing it solid completely.

Maya snapped to attention and began throwing the B-Type armor over herself, ready to swim at the Angel… Not that it would make much of a difference. She couldn't see any possible difference that could result. They were screwed.

As she leapt into the water, she saw something red dive from one of the boats. It swam quickly to an iceberg, holding some sort of spear. It stabbed the iceberg. Nothing happened. So the red thing - Eva-02? - jumped onto the iceberg and looked up. At this point, Maya had made Eva-01 swim close up to the Angel, following it.

Maybe it was the sphere above her, but everything here seemed red. She radioed Eva-02, asking if the pilot had any ideas. Only static came back at first, and then finally, broken but audible, one word. "Climb."

"Climb?" Maya looked at Eva-02, which was so red it burned. The robot pulled out its two prog knives, stuck them into one leg of the Angel, and began to ascend. She decided she'd do the same.

**?:?:?**

* * *

><p>The pilot of Eva-02 turned on her radio as Eva-01 caught up. 'I wonder if she has any ideas', the pilot wondered, as Eva-01 followed the Angel. Here, everything was bathed in red light, and the Evangelion, which had been clearly purple before, lost all the blue coloration. A single word came in over the radio, almost unintelligible because of the static. "Climb."<p>

"Climb?" The pilot looked at Eva-01, which pulled out its two prog knives, stuck them into one leg of the Angel, and began to ascend. She decided she'd do the same.

Up and up they went, first using the knives and balancing their feet against the legs, then clinging onto the rungs of the helixes, then finally shimmying their way across. Each meter they rose made the world redder, when they stood together between the sphere and the head, even the Evangelions had disappeared into red. Strangely though, each detail of the Angel was present and clear.

'Think…' the pilot of Eva-02, Anita Griffith, thought to herself. 'Think hard.' She looked up at the red sphere in its cage. 'They say Angels have cores, but…' She looked down at the other sphere. 'It's sort of red,' she thought. There wasn't enough time for both, she realized. Neither of them was plugged in, and she wasn't sure how many minutes they'd wasted. They'd only had five to start with.

She began to crawl down the body, heading for the immense sphere. Maybe Eva-01 was following her lead; maybe its pilot had come to the same conclusion. It was hard to tell. Weirder still was the way the Angel had completely ignored them. Surely they were supposed to attack?

They reached the sphere. No reaction. They stabbed into it.

And were blasted away by an explosion.

**?:?:?**

* * *

><p>Maya watched in horror. Their plan had worked, but she was falling much too fast and towards the ground, not the waters. She turned to Eva-02, hoping for another idea. It deployed a parachute.<p>

"What? I don't have a parachute!" Maya started pressing random buttons, though, just in case. One button turned on headlights, which was interesting but unwanted. Another caused random clicking to happen. Maya realized it was for forced unplugging of the umbilical cords the Evas got power from. Finally, the Entry Plug was ejected, and she parachuted down to the streets.

Eva-01 landed in a tangled wreck a few meters away. Maya flinched instinctively.

**3711:00:00**

* * *

><p>Asuka, Rei, Kaworu, and Shinji met in a private room, far away from the prying eyes of lesser Nerv workers. Rei had a binder filled with pictures that she wanted to show them.<p>

"Let's start with the most alarming," she said. She placed the first one in the center of the table. It showed several clouds above the battle site that just stopped sharply, as if the rest of them had been cut away. "This image was captured shortly after the explosion."

Kaworu shrugged his shoulders. "We know the Angels are dangerous. There isn't much we can do."

Rei slapped two more pictures down. One showed the Angel's core, sparking with burning white light. Another showed it falling into the sea. The water had receded all around it, a perfect bowl that existed without any forces that could have pushed them away.

"All these pictures are connected to the Core?" Asuka asked nervously.

Rei nodded. "I believe we have finally determined the location of the S2 Engines that each Angel is equipped with. Only a broken engine could have produced such results."

"Can it be recovered?" Shinji asked.

"Yes."

"Do so."

"Understood. Now, one other abnormality…" Rei produced a series of pictures, showing Eva-01 and Eva-02 moving up the Angel. "Both pilots moved in complete synchronicity for a period of three minutes and twelve seconds. We have yet to account for this fact. We also observe that they each sent a radio message to the other pilot at the same time."

"Strange… Is that a bad sign?"

"I don't know," Rei admitted. "That's all I have. I'll send a team to retrieve the core ASAP." She left, bowing. Shinji left shortly after that.

Kaworu turned to Asuka, smiling. "Congratulations, by the way. Although we lost half our defense system and a quarter of the UN fleet, your diversion worked.'

"None of our shots even hit the Angel. Its AT Field was immense."

"Yes, but… it'll only take a week and a half to repair Eva-01. It could have been much worse if the Angel noticed them while they climbed up it." Kaworu bowed. "Good job, Captain. It's time for a meeting with the Committee, or I'd stay longer." He left as well.

Asuka didn't mind everyone's hasty retreat. She rushed off after gathering her things, looking forward to talking to Anita again. It had been half a month. They had a lot of catching up to do.

**3707:40:23**

* * *

><p>The last time I presented this story here on , there was at least one unfavorable review on the use of an original character for an Evangelion pilot. This is understandable. After all, I can hear you saying, Yui, Fuyutsuki, and most importantly Misato still haven't been introduced! Further, some might even argue that Maya doesn't need <em>five <em>(Ritsuko, Kaji, Kyoko, Aoba, Hyuga) normal friends and that any of them would have sufficed as Eva-02's pilot. And these points are _both_ right. However, Yui, Fuyutuski, and Misato all have _equally if not more so_ important roles to play out in this story, and I very specifically gave Maya such a normal life for a reason. I simply ran out of good adults, and Anita, a character made by an internet friend of mine, fills the role in so much better in several respects. I too am not a huge fan of OCs, but I will promise any readers who got this far that I know what I'm doing. I ask you to trust me. After all, you liked what I did so far, to have read sixteen chapters.


	17. In which Anita introduces herself

**In which Anita introduces herself without fanfare**

_"How like a winter hath my absence been / From thee, the pleasure of the fleeting year!" - Sonnet XCVII, William Shakespeare_

"Aka!"

Asuka's arms spread open just in time for Anita to run into them and embrace her tightly. The two held each other for over a minute, and then pulled away. Asuka looked at the girl closely. She had a couple of bruises, some of which were hard to see because of her tan skin, but she always did. Her dark gray eyes were wide with joy, which was a nice sight to see.

"I missed you too," Asuka said. They'd only had a few days to say goodbye. Her job transfer had been approved four days before she'd come to Japan, and Anita's training had been doubled for reasons that Asuka hadn't been aware of at the time.

The two of them walked side-by-side for awhile down the corridors, just enjoying each others' company. Then, pulling at the braid in her hair slightly, Anita asked, "So um, where will I live here?"

Asuka grinned. "One of the conditions for me coming over here was that you'd end up living with me. It's a little cramped because the commander is an idiot who doesn't understand the meaning of the word 'mansion', but I think the two of us can live there no problem."

"Good! Oh, and you saw my battle, of course?" Anita looked up at Asuka hopefully, clearly ready to start bragging.

Asuka only nodded in response, deciding not to mention the oddities they'd detected.

"It went as perfectly as I'd trained for."

"Yeah. Good job there." Asuka reached into a pocket of her uniform and pulled out some papers. "So, uh, you'll be going to this school…" She handed Anita a pamphlet. "It's the same class as the other two pilots, so I'm sure you'll fit in great."

"School?"

**3707:12:28**

* * *

><p>"You're throwing her a party?" Rei asked. "She just got here. Besides, we're all going to be busy. Like I am now." Once again, Asuka had made herself far too comfortable on Rei's desk, and was stretched out and interfering with Rei's attempts to get her job done. The corpses of the Angels weren't going to analyze themselves.<p>

"Yeah! I think it'll help her make friends here, with the pilots and with us. She's lived in Nerv-03 for so long that she hasn't really had to work at making friends, and I'm worried maybe it'll be hard for her, not being quite so special anymore. Anyways, the party's tomorrow night and I'm hoping we'll spend most of the night goofing off."

"It's a sleepover too?" When Asuka nodded, Rei shook her head in disgust and continued with, "Aren't we a little old for a sleepover?"

"I'm only twenty-nine!" Asuka protested. "Come on... You know you want to come." She smiled broadly,

Rei shrugged. "I guess I don't have anything else to do. At least, not then. I'm working now though, so if you don't mind..."

Asuka left, encouraged. However, others were not so interested. The adult friends she had almost invariably turned her proposal down.

"I have a date with Toji-kun," Hikari said simply when Asuka called. "It's rare for us to both have a Friday night free."

Oh, right. She was on leave of absence, and probably didn't want to be around a lot of people right then anyway. Asuka kicked herself mentally, but moved on quickly.

"Ever since security went up, I have to keep an eye on Maya's apartment. Make sure no one breaks in while she's away and plants a bomb or something," Kimie explained.

"I have to write a report," Katsuko said.

Asuka moved onto the pilots after that. She'd told Maya about it, and she said she'd come along. Gendo had been invited as a courtesy. He'd walked away. She really only had a couple other ideas, though they wouldn't be allowed to stay the whole night. They were men, after all.

"I wish I could," Kaworu said when he asked, "because it's important that she get adjusted to Tokyo-3 quickly, but I have a Committee meeting tomorrow night."

The Commander was her last hope, and he too turned her down, for much the same reasons as Kaworu. He did, strangely, seem surprised that Anita was living with Asuka. "When did that happen?"

"I got your approval for it, remember? That one night you called me in Germany."

"Oh." Shinji considered for a moment, and looked at the only picture he kept on his desk. Asuka wondered briefly what that picture was. It always faced him and she'd never seen anyone go onto his side of the desk. Shinji gulped. "Can… can I ask you a favor?"

"I… depends on the favor…" Asuka didn't like the way this conversation was going.

Shinji gulped again, but pressed on. "Well. This is about Anita getting adjusted, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Well… she's not the only one who isn't adjusted… Gendo is… well, he needs a little help." At Asuka's skeptical glance, Shinji corrected himself. "A lot of help. He really needs someone normal to socialize with, and…"

Asuka sighed. "I already invited him, you know. He said no. Well, I'm assuming that was his answer anyway. He really didn't say much of anything."

"That's... not quite what I meant." Shinji looked at the picture again. Asuka wanted to reach over and grab it, to see what face it held. Though she had a sneaking suspicion. Almost involuntarily, the captain reached up and started playing with her dyed brown hair. "What I mean is," the commander said, "Gendo should probably start living with people, instead of by himself."

"You want me to move Gendo in too?" Asuka didn't even bother trying to keep the shock and outrage (yes, outrage. What the hell was this idiot thinking, that she was a day care center?) out of her voice.

Shinji looked at her pleadingly. "Please."

"Why not you?"

"I… I couldn't. Not after…"

"Oh…" Asuka gulped. That was another candidate for the person in the picture. Or maybe it was both of them, really. "Okay, fine. There's one spare room, it's small, but he can have it. I'll move him in tomorrow night. But this is the last time you get to ask a favor like this! I am NOT moving Maya in too!"

She rose. "At any rate, it's time I get back to work. Goodbye, Commander."

**3706:42:10**

* * *

><p>"All right," Kensuke said, standing in front of Keita, Michiko, and Takeru. He couldn't believe that these idiots were the best technicians Nerv had. "The crash pretty much broke every bone in Eva-01's body." They paused for a moment, to look up at the wreck of the Eva-01, which had been transferred to a non-standard Evangelion cage.<p>

The robot was no longer even capable of holding itself up, and the regular crews had given up trying to force the body into a position that could at least be righted, so it just lay on the floor of the cage, pathetic and wounded. Kensuke gulped. Even in this state he still felt as if the thing could go into berserk at any moment and destroy them all. But that was impossible; it had no power.

"Wonderful," Keita muttered. "There's not a whole lot we can do for that."

"The spine is still intact, however," Kensuke said. "So that's a good sign. And even if we don't have the resources to replace the limbs, we can do a lot of work with realigning joints and replacing digits."

'We, of course.' Michiko thought. 'Because you're going to be doing this and not just ordering us around as much as possible.' There was a sound behind her and the technicians turned to the Eva. No, it wasn't moving. Just something settling, surely. She took a deep breath.

Takeru frowned. "Even with all of that work," he noted, "we still are going to have to take awhile to get everything done." He walked over to a computer set into the wall and typed something into it. "And that's accounting for a couple of the spare parts we do have."

"Damn," Kensuke muttered. "We want this done in less than two weeks."

"Evas don't heal that quickly," Keita noted. "They just... don't."

The lieutenant glared at everyone. "Find something to speed things up then! Anything at this point would be helpful."

Takeru and Keita exchanged a glance. They had one idea. It might work.

**3706:24:19**

* * *

><p>"So, any results for the Jet Alone explosion?" Raidon asked. He and Kaito had settled down into the Nerv cafeteria with lunch, and while Raidon was more interested in eating, he was somewhat concerned about the prospects of corporate terrorism. It was something Nerv really didn't need to be getting involved in.<p>

Kaito shrugged his shoulders. "I presented all the information to Doctor Ayanami. If something is up, then she'll let me know."

"Damn. I'm kinda curious about that. I mean, Jet Alone obviously had some pretty good specs. It would take something powerful to penetrate its armor."

Kaito took a sip from his drink and leaned back. The cafeteria was perhaps the worst place to have conversations in Nerv, especially private ones, but there wasn't really anywhere else for the two to go talk. He'd already found at least five listening devices in a bathroom. A bathroom! At least here they'd be covered up by the noise.

"So what do you think it was, then?" Kaito asked.

Raidon leaned in closely. "Well, it wasn't some stupid independent group, I can tell you that much. The specs for Jet Alone suggest that you'd need military-grade weapons to have a chance of penetrating the armor. Thus… it could be us, the JSSDF… or a rival military."

"Or the Angels?"

"Why though?" Raidon asked. "Jet Alone can't hit them. They've always been attacking here, where the big weapons are. And let's face it; there were three entire days between the explosion and the next Angel attack. Why didn't it just come straight to Tokyo-3 and attack the same day?"

"I dunno…" Kaito said, pausing to take a few bites of his food. "I'm not even sure which military groups could have pulled that off. Japanese airspace is monitored, at least along our borders. If it wasn't the JSSDF, then it would have to be us."

"Then it was the JSSDF, simple as that."

Kaito sighed. "I can probably find out something from there. They owe me a couple of favors. We won't be able to do anything about it though. Best case scenario we might be able to find out if they want to pull anything with us." He laughed. "Not likely though, and if they are actually planning something, we're probably in a world of hurt."

Raidon shrugged. "Just knowing is enough for me." He looked down at his empty plate. "Well, I finished up with lunch. Thanks for the chat, Yamada-san."

"Sure. You remind me a bit of someone I went to school with. It's like having those conversations all over again." Kaito grinned and waved as Raidon walked away.

**3706:00:00**

* * *

><p>"I look ridiculous in this uniform," Anita muttered as she and Maya ducked into Class 2-A. She tried brushing it down for a moment, unsuccessfully. She looked down at it again, wondering whose idea it was to have such a weird shade of green for a uniform, and what the ridiculous bow was all about.<p>

Maya laughed. "You'll get used to it."

"No," Anita said calmly. "No, I don't think I will." She looked around at the unfamiliar room, but Maya noted that she didn't seem all that uncomfortable or nervous. Anita wasn't looking all that friendly at anyone either, she realized, but at least she was taking the time to look around.

Strasberg-sensei was already in the classroom, which was unusual for him. He noticed the two pilots and approached. "Ah, G… Gurifi…"

"Griffith," Anita enunciated. "It's American."

Strasberg nodded. "I'm afraid I'm a bit too used to Japanese. Perhaps you will introduce yourself and I'll use your first name? That is the western way of doing things. It's Anita, right?"

Anita nodded. "That's fine," she said. "Where do I sit?"

"We'll worry about that after you introduce yourself."

"Intro-" Anita turned to Maya, but she'd already sat down next to her friends, and was smiling and laughing a little with one of them.

"Don't worry about it. You'll just say your name and a little about yourself. Where you came from, interests, that sort of thing."

Anita nodded, gulping. Public speaking was not her strong suit, and it became apparent to all her classmates after the bell rang and Strasberg-sensei made everyone give Anita their attention. "I… I'm Anita Griffith. I am the pilot of Evangelion Production Model-02, and I come from Hamburg, Germany, where Nerv-03 Base is located." She bowed, and was silent.

Maya glared over at Satsuki as she heard her whisper to Kaede, "Great, some stupid gaijin," but said nothing.

No one said anything for a few awkward moments (everyone heard Satsuki); then Strasberg directed Anita to take a seat. She hurried over there and pulled out her supplies. Strasberg-sensei sighed, and began to talk about math. People kept staring at Anita, but there weren't many whispers and soon the class seemed to reach the consensus that she was either shy or couldn't speak Japanese very well, and the day went on as normal.

This meant that Anita's introduction had gone off much better than Maya's, really.

**3687:52:12**


	18. In which Gendo moves in

**In which Gendo moves in**

_"What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies." - Aristotle_

Rei and Maya got to the party at the same time. A moving truck had already pulled in, and two workers were pulling a bed out of it.

"Huh?" Maya stared. "I thought Anita was already all moved in?"

"I believe Rokubungi's items are arriving as well," Rei explained, not even stopping on her approach to the front doors.

"What? Rokubungi…" Maya couldn't believe it. "Why is that?"

Rei stopped this time, but only to shoot Maya a glare that made it clear that Rei thought the girl was asking entirely too many questions. "It was a last minute request from the Commander. I don't know any more than that, so stop talking."

As they approached the apartment doors, Maya looking down, Gendo got out of the moving van and approached them. "I am home," he announced to Rei, ignoring Maya.

"Hey Gendo-kun!" Maya exclaimed, trying to be nice.

"Doctor Ayanami…" Gendo bowed, still ignoring his co-pilot. "I'm very glad to see you here."

"Hello, Rokubungi," Rei said. She sounded incredibly cold. Maya couldn't believe it. She'd never heard her quite like that before. She decided not to ask though, and instead, all three of them went up to Asuka's apartment and Rei knocked on the door.

Asuka answered. "Oh, hi! Gendo! Rei! Maya!" she grinned. "Come on in!" The ladies did, Gendo hesitated. Asuka sighed, and put her hand on Gendo's shoulder. "Look, I know this is a weird change, but the Commander asked me to take care of you, and that's what I'm going to do." It didn't sound incredibly believable, but she was trying. Gendo responded with a look that was a mixture of innocence and coldness. "Can you give us a chance?"

"I will do my best," he said, taking his suitcase and exploring the apartment until he found his new bedroom. It was small enough to be a large closet. His bed had been placed inside, but it was empty otherwise. He sat the suitcase on the bed, not taking care to open it and unpack. There wasn't much inside besides school supplies and clothes anyway.

Then he joined everyone else, who were dining happily on Chinese food Asuka had ordered for the occasion. It was an awkward table, Maya in her school uniform, Rei in her lab coat, Anita in simple-looking clothing, and Asuka in a ridiculously revealing (but comfy-looking) outfit. She opened up a beer and passed a second can to Rei.

"To us. We somehow managed to evolve into responsible adults." She giggled slightly.

Rei drank, but afterwards corrected Asuka with, "Adults, at any rate."

"So, what do you think of the place?" Anita asked Maya nervously, edging slightly away from Asuka, who was perhaps enjoying her alcohol a little too much."

"It's great; Asuka's apartment looks pretty comfortable. And uh, I think we'll get along."

Anita blushed. "Thank you," she said. She sighed. "I'm not sure what I'll do about… him… though," she admitted quietly.

"You can always call me," Maya offered. Then the two of them began to eat, and conversation stopped while everyone enjoyed the food. No one had bothered saying a word to Gendo.

When they were done, Asuka announced that it was time to watch a bad movie, and led everyone into the living room. Gendo followed reluctantly. The movie "Escape from Monster Island: Part VII: The Clones Attack from Outer Space" was not a movie that sounded like it could be interesting. Trying to avoid everyone, he sat in a corner.

"Come on over, Gendo-kun!" Asuka called. "Sit here!" She patted the sofa cushion next to her. After he moved, she leaned in to whisper to Rei on her other side. "See? All he needs is a little push." Then they began to watch the movie, laughing their way through the poor costumes, dialogue, sets, and characterizations. Asuka did most of the laughing, actually. Rei seemed a little reserved, and all three children were a little uncomfortable. They did loosen up when Asuka put in the next movie, which was a sequel with even lower production values.

Still though, Asuka considered it a major success when she managed to get Gendo to mock part of the movie. Specifically, he mocked the cardboard rocks. Not the best joke, she thought, but it was a real start.

"See? Having fun is nice."

"I fail to see the purpose it serves," Gendo said coldly.

"Stress relief," Rei suggested. Maya noted she sounded much nicer to Gendo now. She wondered if it was the alcohol, or if it was simply being around Asuka.

"Next time you feel awful, like the world is out to get you, just remember something silly or funny, and laugh. I promise you'll feel much better, right Anita?" Asuka offered.

"I, um… Y-yeah."

"I do not feel that way." Gendo stood up and went to his room.

Asuka sighed, and realized that she should call Shinji and report on the way that things were going. "Hey, Rei? Can you cover for me for a second? I need to make a call." She went to the veranda, pulling out her cell phone.

Rei, loudly and jokingly, made an announcement. "If either of you touch alcohol or make any other kind of trouble, I will break your pathetic legs and lock you in your Evangelion for at least thirty-six days."

"Yes, Doctor," Anita said.

"I wouldn't think of it!" Maya answered quickly.

**3673:47:28**

* * *

><p>On the veranda, Asuka began rehearsing while the phone rang. "Oh, Commander, sorry! I was just calling to give you a status report, not to listen to the sound of your voice…" She giggled to herself. "I need to stop thinking about that," she said. "It's really silly."<p>

Then he answered. "This is Commander Ikari. Who's calling?"

"Oh! Uh… Commander…" She tried to calm herself down.

"Asu- Captain?" Even though he'd known that she would be calling him to tell him about Gendo, he still sounded a little surprised. Was he just surprised she was maybe a little drunk? He'd seen her like that before, but not since their college... thing... That had been so wrong.

What had he been thinking, asking the woman he could only remember as the drunken college girl to take care of some teen kid who needed help?

"Hey. Yeah… Sorry about calling you this late… Can you talk?"

"It…" Shinji gulped. "It's fine."

"I was calling to give you an update on Gendo's status," Asuka explained. And nothing else, she told herself again. That stuff needed to stop, and it needed to stop here. It wasn't even a deal, and besides... Something might be going on between herself and Kaworu. Even though they hadn't really talked since the dinner. Nothing except Angels.

"Yeah? How is he doing?"

Asuka paced back and forth nervously. "I think… I think you made a good choice sending him to me." Okay in reality she'd just made him talk once, but that might be good. He didn't seem to do much socializing otherwise. She could get more out of the poor kid, she was sure of it.

"I'm glad."

"Hey uh… You think we could, like, get together sometime?" No! What was she doing? This was stupid. "T-to discuss battle plans!" she amended. "That's what I mean."

Shinji was silent for a moment. He was going to say no, wasn't he? He was remembering everything about everything and he was going to say- "Battle plans. Sure."

"Yeah, right. Anyway, I think that living here is a good way to deal with Rokubungi's antisocial low self-esteem. Uh… I was just calling to let you know this. So now that you do, I guess I should end this call, so…" Asuka trailed off.

"Uh, right. Goodbye." Shinji sounded just as awkward as she felt. This was why they hadn't talked in forever.

"Yeah. See you tomorrow?"

"Of course."

Asuka smiled, even though Shinji couldn't see her. "'Night, Commander Baka."

"Night," he responded. She hung up. That went well.

**3673:33:33**

* * *

><p>"You like it in there, don't you?" Maya asked. She and Anita were in Anita's new bedroom, sprawled out on the bed and both feeling quite comfortable. Things had gone quite well that evening, all things considered.<p>

Anita didn't answer for a moment, and finally turned to Maya with confusion on her face. "Do I like it in where?" she asked.

"In that thing," Maya said vaguely.

Another hesitation, but eventually the answer came. "I suppose so. I've been trained for it for six years," Anita said, realizing what Maya meant.

"Six years… I can't even imagine." Maya shook her head. She hoped she wouldn't be piloting in the year 2021. She'd be twenty by then. That was... old. "You turned out better than some, though. Growing up at Nerv, I mean."

"If you're talking about Gendo... I guess I got lucky." Anita was quiet for awhile, and then she asked, "Would you think I was crazy if I told you something?"

"You can tell me anything," Maya said. It was heartfelt, even though they barely knew each other. Pilots, Maya decided, had to stick together no matter what. The Angels weren't going to kill themselves. And there were too many stories of what went wrong when soldiers couldn't work together, anyway.

It suddenly occured to Maya that she was thinking of herself as a soldier. And that was truly terrifying.

"I don't mind being in the plug. I actually… I like it. I feel like the whole world accepts me, when I'm in there." Anita rolled onto her back and stretched out a little.

Maya smiled. "That's beautiful… I'm not surprised you don't hate it like me if it makes you feel like that. I… I envy you." She tried to decide how she felt inside of an Eva. She didn't know if she was entirely sure, though. Safe, maybe? Or just really nervous.

They were both tired, and as neither could think of anything more to say in that discussion, they settled down to sleep.

**3672:41:28**

* * *

><p>Asuka didn't go back in right away, deciding for quite awhile to just stare at the stars instead. She wasn't sure what she thought, and wasn't in the mood for a party. When she did come back, though, she was smiling broadly. "Hey kids, I'm ba- Huh?" Asuka looked around at the mostly empty living room. Only Rei remained.<p>

"They left to sleep," the doctor explained.

"Already?" Asuka handed a beer to Rei and took another of her own. She looked around. "Remember that dingy old dorm room?"

Ayanami sighed, preferring not to think about the places she used to live. "I burned it to the ground after we left. There are no records," Rei said, perfectly deadpan. Asuka giggled a little at that. "The apartment I have is quite comfortable for living alone," she added.

"Don't you miss me?" Asuka pouted.

"You're right here."

Asuka shut her eyes and thought back to those college days. "I missed having you grumble about me not picking up after myself, or Hikari making us stay up late to finish homework…"

"And you and Toji always fought during study sessions. I think he liked you." Rei laughed a little, but Asuka just rolled her eyes in disbelief.

"That's out of a manga. 'I like you, but I'll act like I hate you to hide it.'"

Rei glared. "Kaito and Kensuke liked you too. You could have had any boy in that school." There was perhaps just the tiniest hint of jealousy and bitterness in her voice, but Asuka didn't notice. She was too in love with all the memories she had. They were the best she had.

"None of them worked out. They were all… idiots, and stuff. College boys, right?" A moment's silence. They both reflected on the issue they were dancing around. "It's good to be back, good to be with you."

Rei looked out a window. "I wish Second Impact had never happened," she said, changing the subject quickly.

"Yeah… Me too." Asuka tried to block out the memories. "But, there's nothing we can do about it." They stared at the stars together, and then Asuka suddenly hugged Rei. "Thanks for coming by," she said.

Rei shifted. "Sure," she said.

"We should do this more often. Maybe next time I'll cook us dinner. I got pretty good at it since we last saw each other. There won't be any more food poisonings, I promise." Asuka tightened her hold on her old best friend.

"I will remember that," Rei said, pulling away forcefully. "I should leave now. Good night."

"You too."

Rei waved goodbye and left, leaving Asuka alone. After a moment's uncertainty, she went to the room where the girls were asleep, and opened it slightly.

"You did a great job during the fight," she whispered. "I'm proud of you both." They didn't answer. They were asleep.

**3672:00:00**


	19. In which photographs are seen

**In which photographs are seen**

_"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." - Profiles of the Future, by Arthur C. Clarke_

August began. No one much noticed, except that Japan's oppressive heat became even more unbearable. A few places received rain, but the clouds were the outmost edge of a large typhoon, so no one celebrated. In Tokyo-3, formerly Hakone, life went on as normal, mostly. A few buildings had been damaged, and two dozen "shipbergs" floated frozen off the coast. Attempts to melt them had been unsuccessful.

As the day began, Asuka attended to her personal needs, showering and then re-dyeing her hair, hiding the red. After breakfast, she drove Anita, Gendo, and Maya to Nerv for their morning synch tests. Maya, of course, could not use Eva-01 because of the immense pain she'd be in if she synched, so they had to set her up with a simulation of the Evangelion's undamaged body.

Then Asuka went to the Commander's office, letting the Nerv technicians worry about the pilots. She knocked on the door several times. There was no answer. Hesitantly, she opened up the door and crept inside.

No one was in the office. Walking quietly, lest Shinji, who was in his apartments on the other side of the far wall, wake up and hear her, she approached his desk. She didn't really know what had come over her.

On his desk was a single personal item, a photograph, framed in an ornate gold design. It always faced him. Asuka wouldn't be surprised if he was the only one who knew what it showed. And today she was going to find out.

Her hand reached out, wrapping around the edge of the frame. She decided she'd hold it up to her face before looking at it, so she pulled it up. Then, and only then did she flip it around, ready to restrain any gasp that she might slip out.

It was a picture of Gendo.

When she considered that Gendo was apparently some sort of relative of Shinji, that didn't seem so weird. The mystery… wasn't. A little disappointing, really.

And then the door to Shinji's apartment opened. Asuka put the picture down as quickly as possible. "Commander!" she exclaimed. "Hi!"

"Hello," he said. "I… don't think I remember letting you in," he said. He didn't sound angry, not to Asuka, but he did sound hesitant, as if perhaps she might have seen something she shouldn't have. Like the photo, really, but did that actually count? It was just a photo in the open. She hadn't been snooping about in the desk or anything!

Asuka blushed. "Sorry, I… I shouldn't have come in."

Shinji shrugged. "What's up?"

"I just was wondering about the S2 Engine. Did you manage to recover it?"

"Almost. The S2 Engine was found." Shinji glowered. "The attempt to recover it froze the submarine we were using solid. Then an independent camera recorded its complete disappearance."

Asuka couldn't believe that. "How… I thought…" She shut her eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to remember exactly how the Expedition fifteen years ago had explained it. Not an easy task, when she spent most of her day trying to ignore the memories of them. "I thought that the S2 Engine created energy out of the vacuum potential. To freeze something solid in a tropical sea… wouldn't that require destroying energy?"

Shinji shrugged. "We still don't know how S2 Engines function. Rei is beginning to think that they don't operate in a quantum sense at all."

"I don't really understand physics," Asuka admitted. "I'm just remembering everything my mom said about that kind of stuff."

They sat in silence for awhile. Then Asuka sighed again. "I wish none of that stuff had happened. The… thing there, they say it attacked us, but really… Okay, I guess you probably already know this. Mom woke it up. The First Angel…"

Shinji sighed. "It wasn't actually an Angel, you know. The Committee, they're the ones who number everything, they didn't designate it as the First. Not really. They just call it the First Angel for the sake of the public."

Asuka's eyebrow rose. "Then what the hell was the First Angel?" she asked. "I mean, as it is I still don't understand why no one ever released any information about the attack of the Second Angel." She looked at Shinji closely. "Do you know why that is?"

Shinji nodded.

"Well, then?"

Shinji didn't say anything.

Asuka sighed. "You really hate giving away information, don't you?"

"You don't wanna know this one, Asuka. Trust me. You'll be happier with life if you don't have the least clue about some of the things that Nerv and the Committee are aware of. It's… nothing illegal. It's just something people shouldn't know."

"Really nothing illegal?" she asked bitterly. "Are you sure? Because Kaito says that if we didn't blow up Jet Alone, it has to be the JSSDF. And I don't like either option."

"Asuka, I won't lie to you. I'm quite positive that the JSSDF is behind the assault on HCI property, and I will do something about it as soon as it's possible."

That would be good enough, Asuka decided. Every time he said that, he told the truth. Or at least, close enough to the truth, though he could use half-truths when it suited him. That though, sounded like something that no one could claim had a double meaning.

And she was right, of course.

**3663:38:28**

* * *

><p>The two female pilots were allowed to leave the building around lunchtime. "Why'd we stop training?" Anita asked as the two of them rode an elevator to the surface. "It's only one o'clock."<p>

Maya rolled her eyes. "Am I the only one who doesn't think we need to be training every minute of the day?" she asked, almost angry.

"If we don't train, the next Angel might overwhelm us. That would not impress Nerv." Maya knew that that was the understatement of the century. People would die if they failed to stop the Angels. Probably all the people, everywhere.

"No, but… I mean, surely we need time to be kids too?" Maya suggested.

Anita didn't seem particularly convinced. "Do we? My six years training for Nerv were focused simply on my synch ratio. We spent little time bothering with anything else, especially things that have no importance."

"Socializing is important!"

Anita shrugged. "Now that I am with additional pilots, surely I can merely socialize with them?"

The elevator doors opened before Maya could counter, and she led Anita to the subway system. From there, they boarded a train heading to the north end of town where Ritsuko lived. Anita was amazed by the subway, which surprised Maya immensely, since she'd read in the news several times that a complete subway system now stretched across Europe and into southwest Asia.

They knocked on the door, and Ritsuko answered. "Hey!" she said. "Kyoko and Shigeru are already here!"

"Cool." Maya grinned and walked into the apartment, kicking off her shoes beforehand. "Thanks for having us over," she added.

"Of course!" Ritsuko responed. "You're our friend. Oh, by the way, Makoto's feeling a little sick, so he won't be dropping by. Just so you know."

Anita hesitated at the doorway, then mimicked Maya and followed her in.

"You guys all know Anita, right?" Maya asked. "No one was absent?"

Ritsuko nodded. "Nice to see you again. We're about to break out the video games. Ever played?"

Anita smiled. "A long time ago when I was little," she said. "My brothers and I…" she trailed off. "Well, we had fun." She sat down in front of the television set, and took the second controller. Ritsuko gladly sat by her, picking up first player.

Maya and Kyoko exchanged glances. "Looks like Anita-san's going to be as competitive as the rest," Kyoko joked. Neither she nor Maya were major video game fans. Kyoko had never had her own console, and Maya felt lately like the video games were a little too close to home.

Kyoko took a deck of cards out of her purse. "Ritsuko-san, I thought you wanted me for a band," she joked, shuffling.

Shigeru joined Anita and Ritsuko. "We still don't have a drummer," he commented. "We can't be a good band without a drummer." He gave Maya a hopeful look, which she shot down with a glare. "Ouch," he said jokingly. "If looks could kill... You should try hanging out with Satsuki's group of bitches if you wanna act like that."

Maya couldn't help but laugh, but cut herself off as the door opened. Kaji walked into the apartment. Ritsuko turned to smile at him as he came in, and he waved in response. "Hey," he said. "Oh! It's the new girl!" He looked at Maya uncomfortably. "What's her name again?" he whispered to her.

"It's Anita," she replied.

"Hey, Anita." Kaji joined the other video game players. "You'll be happy to know that you're in the tabloids."

Anita stared at him. "The what?"

"The tabloids. Like a magazine. Ritsuko and I snuck out of the shelters and got some pictures of your Evas. I sold 'em off." He opened up a tabloid, revealing a large picture of Eva-02 parachuting down to Earth.

"You snuck out?" Maya said disbelievingly. "Why would you do something so stupid?"

Kaji looked hurt and didn't say anything. Right, Maya remembered. Friends. Ritsuko covered for him, though. "It wasn't any big deal," she said, distracted from the fact that her game character was being punched by Anita's off the screen. "We opened up some doors, snuck by a guard or two, and went up to the surface. We got pictures of everything."

"The Angel, the Evas… When you guys were about to kill it, we went back into the shelters. They've got lead shielding and all. We came back out awhile later and got this awesome parachuting picture."

"That's… incredibly…"

"Stupid," Anita finished. "You two could have been irradiated or killed or worse."

Ritsuko shrugged. "Nah. It's no biggie. We're thinking about doing it for the next Angel too." She looked at Shigeru and Kyoko. "You two wanna come?"

"Um..." Shigeru looked away. "I think my family's had enough risks with the Angels, really."

Maya looked at him, confused. "Uh..."

Ryoji leaned in. "We didn't want to tell you, because it isn't really your fault... His little brother was injured by Angel that arrived the day you did."

The girl gasped. "Oh my gosh! Shigeru, I'm so-"

"Stop," he said. "Really. It's not your fault. I'm just not gonna go take some stupid pictures."

Ritsuko rolled her eyes. "There's good money in them..." she said, trying to make the prospect as appealing as possible, but Shigeru didn't say anything, and she didn't really push it after that.

"You're going to get in a lot of trouble," Maya pointed out angrily.

"Like anyone will find out. There's no cameras in the shelters or on the part of the surface we ended up on," Ryoji said. "We'll be fine, Maya. If you weren't a pilot you'd definitely be coming along, and loving every second of it."

Maya laughed. "I doubt it," she said. "Seeing them up close is more involved and it isn't fun at all." She turned back to the card game with Kyoko. "You guys just don't get it, do you?" They didn't say anything in response.

**3658:00:00**

* * *

><p>It was Kaito's turn to enter Shinji's office unannounced. Unlike Asuka, though, Shinji had no particular fears of Kaito entering the office. Kaito knew about the only secret truly worth keeping in the place. It was not in the desk, but in a secret, refrigerated compartment behind it.<p>

Of course, another reason Shinji would not particularly mind Kaito's presence was that he was actually present as Kaito entered. He looked up from the papers he was working on and smiled. "Hey," he said. Like with Asuka, his voice was casual, though a particular tone was absent.

"Hello former Sensei," Kaito responded. "Just came by to check up on... you know." He frowned. "I will give you enough credit to assume that you didn't manage to destroy it in these past couple of days."

Shinji just grinned in response. "Of course not," he said. "Good job, by the way, of smuggling that out from under Seele's noses, and not giving it away to anyone. Even that intolerable Vice Commander doesn't have a clue of the real reason you took so long to get here. And now we've deprived them of one of the things they need for Third Impact."

Kaito crossed his arms. "Do you really think they'd do something like that?" he asked. "Destroy mankind, I mean..."

"They'd do whatever it takes," Shinji assured him. "They did start Second Impact too, you know. And they manipulated things to give themselves enough power to do whatever they want in the meantime."

The younger man sat down on the chair across from Shinji, still not convinced. "They could just have done that to guarantee their own power for as long as Seele lasts, but okay, they could be doing that. Except that's a long term goal, you said. Something about all the Angels having to be dead first." When Shinji nodded, he went on. "Which is why I thought I'd mention the fact that they've got another pilot training up."

Shinji raised an eyebrow. "I've heard nothing about her," he noted. "I know the Americans are training someone, but I didn't know anything about a second European pilot. That's a pretty odd secret to keep from me."

"And not particularly well-kept," Kaito noted. "Odds are they just didn't want to mention her until she gets her own Eva. Europe won't have another Eva of its own ready until mid-November."

"They're moving pretty quickly. Unless the Americans pick up the pace, they won't be done with both of their Evas until December."

"Probably not," Kaito agreed. "So this war's probably going to be dragging on quite some time." He sighed. "How will we even know when it's over?"

The commander laughed. "When Seele tells us, no doubt. At any rate, thanks for telling me about the pilot. I'll let them get away with not mentioning her for now; it's nothing important. There are much bigger secrets they're keeping."

Kaito almost asked what those secrets might entail, but stopped himself. Shinji wouldn't answer anyway. Instead, he excused himself, and left the room. Some secrets needed to be dug up.

**3657:22:08**


	20. In which battles are reviewed

**In which battles are reviewed**

_"So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, 'It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.'" - Book of Genesis, Author Disputed_

While Maya and Anita socialized, Gendo merely trained, remaining in the Evangelion for several additional hours. Eva-00 was not a safe machine. Unlike Eva-02, which had never presented a danger to anyone, or Eva-01, which merely entered Berserk Mode in battle when its pilot behaved incompetently, Eva-00 had a history.

He could still remember the first time it had gone berserk. He'd been in battle; his very first real one. More importantly, unlike Maya he'd been well-prepared. The Second Angel might have been truly hideous- a strange creature with oddly-angled legs, a spherical main body and a hideously long neck which stretched outwards to him- but Gendo had not been afraid. Gendo didn't have time for fear.

He'd plunged his knife towards the Second Angel, tearing off its flesh as easily as - no, easier than - skinning an apple. What a pathetic creature. It had been dragged, kicking and screaming into Nerv so that it could become his mark, that he could hunt it down, rip it to pieces. The entire situation was completely controlled, and to the amusement of Nerv workers the Angel was not even capable of tearing down the defensive walls that Nerv was lined with. They could keep it imprisoned down in the deeper layers of Nerv for the rest of time, and it would be trapped, immortal and useless.

Gendo might have laughed, if he'd ever felt like laughing. What a terrible fate. And yet at the same time, half that fate was his. The other half might still be avoided, though. That's what the battle had been about. Proving his worth once and for all. All he had to do was follow the routine that Doctor Ayanami had carefully laid out, and he always followed that routine.

But things hadn't gone as planned. As the knife dug into the Angel, the Evangelion rebelled. It wasn't supposed to be like that. Berserk mode had been known to be a possibility, even expected, but not like this. The knife pulled out, and Evangelion Unit-00 stopped attempting to kill the Angel. Instead, it ran away from the fight entirely. In a matter of minutes, the two giants were separated well enough that the Angel could be sealed away properly while Eva-00 raged.

And so it had, in the hallways of Nerv. The attempts to stop Eva-00's raging had lasted an hour. Berserk mode rarely paid any attention to things like power limits. Their only success had been in ejected his Entry Plug. This naturally resulted in it exploding out of the Eva, careening and colliding down corridors until it finally came to a stop.

It had hurt like hell, and he had spent half a month recovering. That mistake, Gendo decided, was one that should never be repeated. And so far, the Eva had never fought him again in such a way. It had fought him, though.

The second time Eva-00 had gone berserk, things had gone better. The Fourth Angel had only too quickly fallen once he'd discovered its weakness.

After Maya had fallen unconscious, he'd doubled around the Angel, using the city streets to his advantage to confuse it. A few buildings had been demolished because of it, but that was a small price to pay for victory. He'd approached Eva-01's form, uncaring of the pain the pilot had felt, and ripped a pylon off of its shoulder.

Inside had been the prog knife. Eva-00, designed and constructed before Nerv-Beijing had proposed the model, lacked them. Eva-01 did not. Progressive knives, which vibrated and were designed to withstand heats that could be found in the center of the Earth, might have a chance of cutting into the strange metallic Angel.

Gendo had approached it slowly, doubling around street corners and attempting to make sure that everything would be in his favor. Then, when the Angel had finally become confused enough, he'd run right at it, knife aimed at the Angel's eyes. It seemed the best solution. They were red.

Sure enough, the knife rammed right into the eyes. What exactly happened to the Angel next, Gendo was uncertain, though obviously it had died in some fashion. He did know though, that once the progressive knife had been buried deep enough, Eva-00 went berserk again, running around the thankfully already demolished buildings, yelling and screaming. It turned off quicker this time, at less injury to him. He'd only had to spend a night in the observation room. When Ibuki asked him about the battle the next day, when they'd been driven to school, he saw no reason to mention things.

Especially since she'd been so useless in the actual fight.

Doctor Ayanami seemed absolutely convinced that the issues of berserkings could be dealt with simply by getting more training. Therefore Gendo knew that the berserker issues would be dealt with simply, by him getting more training. Unfortunately, Maya's synch ratio was rising slightly faster than his was. This wasn't a concern yet, but if it kept up…

He hoped that Doctor Ayanami wouldn't be disappointed in him if things turned out that way. Her opinion meant the world to him.

**3656:49:20**

* * *

><p>A couple of hours after Asuka left the office, Shinji turned his attention to some videos that he'd been meaning to review since the 11th. They were the camera views of the battle that Maya had fought against the Third Angel. Clicking the remote to resume play, he settled in to watch.<p>

Eva-01 came out from the Geofront. It did some baby steps, and then it tripped. Luckily, she pulled herself up without any difficulties. Then of course, the Angel appeared.

Video cameras had difficulties with Angels. A simple photograph could be taken, no problem. Attempting to put the frames together in a meaningful way? That had proven completely impossible. The Third Angel as designated by Seele, named Matarael, the Angel of Rain by the Dead Sea Scrolls, had been rendered simply as a red sphere surrounded by a white outline that designated the Angel body.

One of the "white" legs lifted up, and Eva-01 just stood there, thanks to Maya's paralysis. Shinji knew he shouldn't be overly critical, for obvious reasons, but it felt difficult. Perhaps it was because he'd known Mari, known the decisions she'd made. Where Maya was timid, Mari had charged forward. Ethically questionable decisions were her forte, but at least she was always ready to take the fall for them.

Eva-01 took a step back, but it wasn't enough. The leg-outline stabbed through the robot, the forehead armor easily cracked. Eva-01 collapsed.

Shinji watched, concerned. He knew how everything turned out, but… he felt bad for Maya now. Apparently she'd passed out right at this point. Eva-01, however, did not know unconsciousness. As the leg retracted, Eva-01 pulled up. The same leg dived down to deal another hit, but Eva-01 dived out of the way.

It roared from a safe position, drawing the Angel towards it. Matarael followed angrily, probably unsure of what was about to happen. Compared to Eva-00's berserk mode, Eva-01's seemed calm, smooth. Eva-00 resembled a completely wild beast with no intelligence at all. Eva-01 was still bestial, but there was logic in its madness.

A couple city blocks into the chase, Eva-01 turned around and dived at the Angel. One front leg was several blocks away, another was currently lifted. The back legs, obviously, were no threat. Eva-01 ducked beneath the leg, ready to attack the bottom of the Angel's body.

Things went horribly wrong at that point, of course. They so often did. Each eye of the Angel (according to a bit of data retrieved from Eva-01's AI - the camera had been unable to form a picture of the eyes for reasons unknown) suddenly blasted an orange acid out. Eva-01 had been forced to retreat.

This, of course, led to the Evangelion being in the path of a falling leg, so it had to duck back again to protect itself and its child. The process repeated a few times, Eva-01 always getting a little closer to the main body before the acid was launched, but it was obvious that this attack was not going to work.

Eva-01 ducked back again. A leg raised up, ready to stab through the bleeding forehead again. Eva-01 jumped slightly back as the leg came down, letting it jab into the concrete. Then it grabbed the leg and began to shimmy up it. A few bits of acid were launched at the Eva.

Shinji couldn't help but laugh as the acid collided with the leg. It didn't actually do any damage, but the thought that it could have amused him greatly. Eva-01 pulled itself along anyways, and eventually met the upper joint and simply slid down to the upper body. There were no eyes there.

With a triumphant roar, it began to dig into Matarael, tearing out chunks of flesh from the top. It went, and went. The cameras recorded that the disconnected flesh simply melted away, occasionally damaging buildings if they connected. The Angel thrashed about underneath. A few stub legs formed, almost as if it was planning to pull Eva-01 away.

It wasn't quick enough. Eva-01 dug in deep and pulled out a giant red sphere. It then leapt off the main body, holding the sphere up. Matarael, inexorably, inevitably, followed. How could it not? But it had clearly been wounded. Parts of the body rippled, as if they'd been converted to liquid. Perhaps they had. The cameras were worthless in this respect.

Eva-01 held out the sphere as another leg came down. The monomolecular limb stabbed right through the core, and the Angel melted away completely, even regrettably the sphere. Shinji had been quite irritated when he'd been told of that, but he couldn't affect anything. If Eva-01 had found that form of destruction suitable, it was.

Shockingly, part of the liquid form of the Angel collided with the Evangelion's neck, melting it. The Eva roared in pain, but Nerv had plans for that. Tranquilizers collided with small, almost imperceptible holes in the Eva's armor. It was brought down.

They didn't save it in time to keep the neck intact, but it was easy to regenerate and the head was soon attached safely. That was all that mattered there.

**3656:22:18**

* * *

><p>Kaworu was watching the camera logs too, with a smirk. When he finished with the Third Angel, he'd moved onto the Fourth. If he ever spoke to Gendo, he'd know that the boy's memories of the events were perfect. But as the boy had been busy during the berserk sequence, he'd missed the death of the Angel.<p>

The core, which had been in the head, had exploded in white light. The metal form of the Angel began to change rapidly, condensing itself into a simple cube, then a square, then a line, and then a single metal point. The cameras recorded that the buildings around it began to buckle, twisting inward.

Luckily for mankind, rather than collapsing into a black hole, the point simply disappeared. The buildings returned to normal as if they'd never been bent at all. The Fourth Angel as designated by Seele, named Raziel, the Angel of Mysteries by the Dead Sea Scrolls, died simply, unlike the Third Angel or the Fifth. It was probably for the best, that way. The less devastation, the better. After all, devastation meant people would die, and if there was one thing he wanted to avoid, it was death.

He loved people too much to want them to suffer.

**3656:00:00**


	21. In which even Gendo wonders what's up

**In which even Gendo wonders what is up**

_"Man there's so many times I don't know what I'm doing / Like I don't know now" - Her Diamonds, by Rob Thomas_

"Thanks for walking with me, guys," Kyoko said. She smiled at Maya and Anita, both of whom had left Ritsuko's apartment with her.

Maya smiled back. "It's no problem!" she said. "Anita-san lives only a few blocks away, with the Captain of Nerv."

"That's cool." Kyoko walked in silence for a little while, and then she turned to Anita and asked. "Do you know how to play the drums? We're still looking for someone for the band."

"The band?" Anita asked.

Maya stared dumbfounded for a second before she realized that of course Anita wasn't a native speaker and couldn't know all the words yet. "You know," she said. "A band. A group of people who play music together. Like the old bands, uh…" She tried to think of a German group, but failed miserably. She realized that she didn't know much of anything about Germany. She probably ought to talk to Anita more about that at some point.

"Oh," Anita said. She didn't actually sound any more understanding than she had been before, but if she was going to say she was fine, Maya wasn't going to argue.

"So, can you play drums?" Kyoko made some motions with her hands and a couple of sound effects to demonstrate.

Anita shook her head. "Sorry, no. I never had time to learn to play any instruments because of piloting Evangelion. That was considered more important."

Kyoko sighed. "Figures. You know, when Makoto told me about the band, I really did think we were going to practice more often. Not that I mind hanging out with you guys, but… I really like music, you know?"

Maya and Anita didn't say anything to that. Kyoko gulped. "I… I do like you guys. Just, Makoto made it sound a lot more like practicing, a lot less like hanging out. I have other friends, and I haven't been hanging out with them all that much."

"Who?" Maya asked.

"Kids from 2-B. They're kinda shy, but we generally hang out after school. I haven't done that lately." She shrugged.

Anita didn't seem the least bit interested in the conversation, and said nothing. Maya wasn't quite sure what to say. "You don't have to hang out with us," she suggested. "I mean… I'll try to start drumming; it's just that I don't have a lot of time."

"You don't have to." Kyoko gulped. "I don't know what I was saying."

They reached Kyoko's apartment building. She hesitated at the front door, apparently not quite willing to leave the company of people her age. "If you guys want, I could see if you're welcome to stay for dinner."

"That could be cool. Anita, what do you think?"

"I'd still rather be training," she said.

"The Angels have attacked roughly once every ten days," Maya said. "It's been two days since the last one. I think we're fine."

Anita grumbled but agreed to come inside. Kyoko's apartment was conveniently placed on the ground floor, and was of the same design as Maya's, Asuka's, and Ritsuko's. Clearly the people who had built this city had picked simple, repeatable designs. Maya guessed it was because such things were both easy to make once and easy to reconstruct as often as necessary. Tokyo-3 was a rather endagered city.

"I'm home!" Kyoko exclaimed brightly. There was no response. Her face fell slowly. "Mom? Dad?" She walked slowly towards the master bedroom, and opened the door a little. No one was there. She sighed. "Well, I'm not going to have to ask for permission, it seems."

"I still will," Anita said. "Aka-chan will be worried if I don't come home without saying why."

"Right! You can use the phone! It's in the kitchen."

Anita went to it and dialed in a number unfamiliarly. A minute later, someone answered and Anita announced her plans. Kyoko and Maya meanwhile, did some digging and pulled out the ingredients with which to make tekkadon. It was great actually doing proper cooking, Maya rarely had had time to do anything like that, and the kitchen soon filled to the brim with the delightful aroma of food.

They sat down together and devoured the food happily. When they were done, they helped Kyoko clean up. Her parents were still gone, and hadn't called. Strangely, Kyoko wasn't especially worried about them.

"They're away a lot," she explained. "They don't leave notes or anything either." She sighed. "You guys should probably go though. If they come back, I dunno how happy they'll be about me having had guests over. They're very weird like that."

"It's fine," Anita said. "I should go see about spending more time training."

'Of course,' Maya thought angrily. 'It's all you've talked about this entire time.' What was training in Germany like? Did they just wake Anita up at five in the morning, throw her into an entry plug, and keep her there until midnight? Maya didn't need that much training and she was actually performing competently when it came to piloting. Maybe Anita found it more difficult than Maya did, but that also seemed unlikely.

"Thank you for having us over," Maya said. "We should do it again. Soon, if possible."

"Yeah, that would be great," Kyoko said, seeing her guests out the front door.

**3655:52:21**

* * *

><p>"That wraps it up, Gendo."<p>

"Understood." Gendo settled back in his seat as the Pribnow Box he'd been training in powered down. Each Pribnow Box existed to provide a holographic battle environment for an Evangelion, and he'd just practiced fighting all known Angels again. Once the shutdown finished, a wall retracted and Eva-00 was pulled back out of it and into the Cage. "Deactivate Eva-00. Synchronization concluded. Recycle LCL. End the movement…"

All of the power turned off, and the Entry Plug was pulled away. The process was long and irritating, but Gendo didn't complain. Doctor Ayanami was listening. Besides, she always stood outside the Plug, waiting for him to come out.

The hatch opened, and there she was, not even looking at him but staring down at a little notebook. At first it looked like she was writing, but he realized she wasn't doing that. She was doodling something. She was smiling, which was strange. She never smiled where he could see her, not if she could help it. That was okay. He just needed to know that she was there for him. He crawled out of the Entry Plug, as close to smiling as he ever could be.

She merely nodded. "Your test went as expected," she reported. "Eva-00's artificial consciousness never approached more than two percent awareness. No backlash from the battles with the Second or Fourth Angels was detected." The two of them began walking out of the Cage, towards the locker facilities.

"Good," Gendo said. "Ma'am, if I might ask…"

He hesitated here. Doctor Ayanami had a way of randomly interjecting that he couldn't ask if he simply assumed he'd be allowed to do so. When he'd finally managed to ask about that, she'd said it was her way of ensuring that he'd always follow orders.

"You may," she responded coolly.

"Why does Eva-00 rebel?"

Doctor Ayanami walked in silence for awhile, and then said, "We believe we miscalculated in the design of your Evangelion. It was an unforeseeable consequence of the experiments."

"Does this mean that her Evangelion is more stable?" he asked. He'd never been informed about the exact mechanics.

"Yes." The doctor didn't need to ask which girl Gendo was referring to. The two had yet to discuss Anita with each other, and it was unlikely that they ever would. She was just an additional weapon, and didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. Not like Gendo or Maya did.

Gendo glowered. How did Maya get such a capable beast, while he, the one who actually showed expertise, was stuck with the broken one? "You should send the First Child home," he muttered, "and let me pilot her Evangelion."

Doctor Ayanami only said, "She performed at the Second Child's level against the Fifth Angel. Besides, we'll need more than two pilots."

There was the unspoken realization that right now they didn't even have that. Eva-01 was still damaged, and whatever Doctor Ayanami had expected out of the schedule, it was clear that it would be at least a day behind. If the Sixth Angel arrived when it was Seele told them it would, the ninth of August, Eva-01 wouldn't be finished. If the Angel arrived even earlier, if the Dead Sea Scrolls were incorrect yet again…

An even worse thought was the possibility that the Sixth Angel would be more powerful than Nerv would be ready for. Gendo thought it was likely, but he didn't mention it, and if Doctor Ayanami had considered the idea, she hadn't said.

**3655:22:18**

* * *

><p>Asuka knocked on the door to Kaworu's office, and barely even waited for the reply before opening the door. "Sorry for scheduling this meeting on such short notice," she said. "Anita's having dinner somewhere else so I decided that we could have another little dinner dat- discussion." She laughed a little nervously.<p>

"I'm always glad to work with you," Kaworu answered. "Besides, I don't have much of a social life, so I assure you it will be quite difficult to try to schedule a meeting with me I can't make. Well, except for Sunday nights, anyways. They have classical music concerts those nights, which I am always sure to attend." He laughed too, not nervous at all, and gestured to the seat opposite his desk. Asuka sat down comfortably.

"Now," Kaworu said, "we have quite a few things to report. Rei says that Eva-00 was deployed at one point to investigate Jet Alone, and that Type-A Armor was used. She says it worked perfectly. And of course, two days ago we deployed Eva-01 with Type-B Armor against the Fifth Angel. That was also a complete success, though of course the Eva was heavily damaged anyways." He paused, taking a few bites of the beef ramen he'd prepared. Asuka slowly poured herself a bowl and listened as he continued.

He did frown slightly though. "The commander has approved us using further armor models, but I am uncertain as to what you think would be the best ones to start work on right away."

Asuka considered. "Well," she said, opening a beer and drinking slowly, to let herself think. "A good start would be two armor modes that resist extreme temperatures. That last Angel had some... frost... issues, so Type-C should be cold resistant, and Type-D heat resistant." She thought. "And then maybe we should continue augmenting functionalities? Uh... Type-E could be about giving the Eva a speed boost, or something?" The captain shrugged. "I dunno. I'm sure that the R&D guys have some of their own ideas."

Then she frowned. "I don't remember approving a Type-A armor design, though..."

Kaworu's eyes widened, and he considered for a moment. "I don't either," he said. "Perhaps they were already in place before we arrived? I'm new here myself, after all..."

"Yes, that must be it," Asuka agreed. She was the only person who had the power to make new armor types, after all. Only two people who could possibly get around that were Shinji and Rei, and either of them could just talk to her. She was their friend, and would have approved a radioactive-proof suit in a second because it was a good idea. And neither of those two had anything to hide.

**3655:00:00**

* * *

><p>Toji knocked on the door of Hikari's apartment. She didn't answer.<p>

He sighed. His girlfriend was obviously depressed about the death of her sister, and he understood that. What he didn't understand was the way she went back and forth; one day pretending it didn't matter, that everything was okay, the next locking herself away and hiding from the world. Women were so inconsistent.

He knocked again, giving her a chance to change her mind. She did, answering.

"Hey," he said. "Do… D'ya…"

She stood to the side, and he kicked his shoes off and walked in. They didn't say anything as he took his jacket off and placed it in the closet. They didn't say anything when they walked into the living room. They didn't say anything when she started to cry. He didn't know what to say, so he just held her.

"S- she just wanted to help people, like me… She didn't…"

She kept crying. Toji still couldn't think of anything to say. Nothing could make it better, so he just held her on the off chance that that would make things better.

It hadn't this past week, but… Maybe today would be the day that things worked out. It was all he could do for her.

**3654:58:10**


	22. In which workers struggle with secrets

**In which workers struggle with secrets**

_"Exitus acta probat." - a Latin proverb meaning "the outcome justifies the deed"_

Kimie sat at her desk in the command center, looking at the data they'd collected. All three pilots were under constant surveillance, and she noted with some disapproval that even basic privacy wasn't respected. She tossed the shower photos away; they weren't important, just highly disturbing.

Sighing, she picked up her phone and dialed Yamada.

"Yamada Kaito."

"This is Idane... Do you know the kinds of photos that the agents have been collecting?" Kimie tried to keep the frustration out of her voice. Nerv seemed more intrusive every day.

"Just photos on the pilots, right?" Kaito sounded pretty disinterested, which frustrated Kimie. If he was going to be in charge of Section 2, he could at least care.

"No! Well, so far only photos of them, but the surveillance collected is slightly alarming."

"Are the pilots in danger?" Kaito asked. Now he sounded concerned, but in completely the wrong way. This wasn't about them, it was about the way they were being treated!

"No! It's just the photographs. They take photos of the kids constantly. Everywhere! Even in the bathroom!"

"That is a little disturbing," Kaito admitted. "But at least they're being watched twenty-four/seven."

Kimie frowned. "Really? You don't care… What about their privacy?"

"Doctor Ayanami wants them watched constantly. Stopping for even a moment would put them at risk. I don't like it especially, but it seems like it's what we're gonna have to do to keep them safe. All three of them, or their guardians, have signed forms giving us consent to do stuff like that."

Kimie stared. "Their guardians?" she asked. Anita and Gendo didn't technically have legal guardians, as they'd been raised officially by Nerv. That meant that once again it was Maya, the one least aware of how things functioned, would be the one being kept in the dark about their motives. It didn't matter though. "Fine then. Never mind, sir. I just thought…"

"It's fine, Kimie… And I mean… you don't have to call me 'sir'. We went out for how long back in college?"

"No, I really should call you 'sir'," Kimie argued. "Anwyay, I've got a shift to watch Maya soon, so I have to go now. Bye!" She hung up before he could respond. That idiot. Mentioning them going out… That was forever ago. She was single now and she had no intentions of getting a boyfriend any time soon.

Stupid Kaito.

**3640:30:28**

* * *

><p>"How's it coming along?" Kensuke asked as soon as he entered Evangelion Unit-01's Cage. Then his jaw dropped. One Evangelion leg was lying on the floor, lacking armor; another was being stitched carefully to the main body. "What's this?"<p>

Takeru turned to Kensuke, grinning. "We used the storage of limbs area facility to get some spares."

"The storage… area? There is no storage area for spare limbs!"

"Sure there is," Michiko said. "We found it and everything. Very first day we were here, we got lost and Keita ended up leadings us there instead of here. It's not marked, but that's probably just an oversight."

"The main map does contain over ten thousand marked areas, after all," Takeru said cheerfully. "We moved this leg up here and should have all the nerves correctly set up tomorrow!"

"Then… if there is one…" Kensuke sighed. "Could you show it to me so I can correct the maps, please?"

"Of course!" Michiko said. She laughed a bit. "We probably should have reported it as soon as we realized it wasn't on a regular map, but… Well, everyone gets lost on their first day here, we weren't sure if anyone was supposed to know."

"It wasn't locked," Keita commented. "If no one is supposed to know, security sure is shoddy around here."

"Anyway, come on!" Michiko said. "I'll take you!" She walked to an elevator. Kensuke hesitated, not sure if maybe the place was supposed to be locked and they'd be in trouble, but then like they'd said, if no one was allowed in, the security in the Geofront was incredibly useless, and he knew for a fact it wasn't, having already gotten in trouble when he'd pressed a wrong button on an elevator.

When he joined Michiko, she pressed a button towards the bottom, and they began their descent. Even with Nerv's high-tech rapid-speed elevators, the journey took several minutes. Kensuke suspected that they'd sunk beneath the pyramid at this point and were in some sort of basement. The basement of an underground structure. What a weird thought. The doors finally opened, revealing an empty corridor.

"No one is ever down here," Michiko commented. "I don't blame them. Look at these corridors."

Kensuke stared in confusion. All of Nerv's corridors were straight and flat, but this particular corridor had a curve to it, bending down in both directions. "Uh…" To avoid the strange feeling of the curved surface, he turned to Michiko. He'd never paid her much attention before; though she was much prettier than most other workers (due to liberal applications of make-up, he realized, and careful straightening of her long black hair). She even managed to make the uniform a little more attractive by not buttoning it according to regulations.

"Don't worry, it's this room." The lieutenant walked across the hallway and opened the door opposite them. On its other side was an immense room, filled with things that looked like Evas without armor. Giant humanoid forms littered the room. Some were nothing more than framework, others were almost complete, but none quite so. Limbs and torsos were spread about haphazardly, as were metallic skeletal frameworks.

"What the-?"

"I think these are failed prototypes," Michiko explained. "All the ones over there are labeled Eva-00… the ones here are labeled Eva-01."

"You're using parts from failed Evangelion? Isn't that risky?"

"Of course not! We check each 'limb' before we take it, and besides, it's pretty obvious all of these things failed the AI tests. Most are missing heads or torsos."

"Gee… I guess that makes sense." Kensuke looked around, his eyes wide. "I wonder why this room isn't marked… There's nothing suspicious about it…" He saw a particular cluster of Eva-00's. "Er, okay, the spines are creepy, but…"

Michiko started leaving, shrugging. "It's probably just a mistake. With ten thousand marked areas, it's hard to keep track of them all. Now come on, we both have jobs to do." She left the room silently. Kensuke hesitated, but then followed her. He'd never seen that many giant robots in his life.

He wasn't sure if it was cool or horrifying.

**3637:38:39**

* * *

><p>Asuka, dozens of levels above Kensuke, walked down what seemed to be (but wasn't quite) a perfectly flat corridor. Even though she had been at Nerv HQ for over half a month, it was still all too easy to get lost, and she was beginning to wonder if this was the correct level, which was distressing because she'd been to Kaworu's office just last night. He couldn't have moved it. At least, the odds of him doing so were low.<p>

Luckily, Asuka found one of the many maps that were beginning to be set up. Shinji had insisted on them around the time that he'd ended up in a janitorial closet twenty floors from his office. Kaworu's office was on this floor, and she found it in no time.

Before she'd knocked twice, he said "Enter." Prompt. She liked that.

"Hello, Vice-Commander," she said brightly.

"Are you still calling me that? I thought I said it was okay for you to call me Kaworu."

Asuka blushed lightly. "Sorry. Um, I just wanted to thank you for dinner last night, and uh, talk a bit." That wasn't what she'd said last night, but it would do. She sat down in the chair opposite his desk, partly because Rei was tired of her using desks, partly because this particular skirt was a little too short. "So, what exactly is your job, anyways?" she asked. "I've heard you're a second-in-command, that you're supposed to monitor spending, or that you're just the eyes-and-ears of the Committee."

"This is what this meeting is about?" Kaworu asked. "I thought you had something important, like tactics to discuss."

"I do, but…" Asuka frowned. "I don't understand anything about Nerv lately." The first Angel was just one thing. The second was also disconcerting, because Shinji refused to talk about it.

"Oh, well…" Kaworu smiled again. "Very well. I do all three, you know. Mostly, though, I'm here to make reports to the Committee."

"Why, though?"

"Just in case. After all, imagine if Ikari went crazy and used the Evangelion to take over the world, or something like it. Just using one inappropriately would be a very bad sign."

"And the Evangelion going berserk when we fight Angels isn't a misuse?" Asuka countered.

"Of course it is. The good thing is that Ikari doesn't have any actual control over those incidents, as far as we know. Therefore, the Committee isn't planning to interfere. Besides, the only way to do so would be to remove Eva-00 and Eva-01 from active service, which would end poorly." He laughed a little. "It's possible that when Eva-03 is completed, Eva-00 will be phased out of service, and then when Eva-04 is completed, Eva-01 will receive the same treatment."

Asuka took a deep breath, and then asked a question she thought might be a little too risky. "Does the Committee know anything about the Angels I don't? Classified sort of stuff? Not just something like where they're from," she added at Kaworu's sudden lack of a smile, "just, you know, something I could use for tactics. To keep us alive."

Kaworu's face revealed nothing. "Classified information is classified for a reason, Captain. I assure you, if there was something I thought useful for tactics, I'd find it."

Asuka nodded. "All right then. I was just curious, especially after the weird stuff that went on in the last fight."

Now Kaworu looked concerned. 'The Dead Sea Scrolls warned that such things could happen in prolonged human/Angel interactions,' he thought, 'but we didn't think that just a battle in the middle of a fleet of ships would cause that sort of thing.'

"I'm positive I can't help you there," he said. "Now, tell me about your ideas." He leaned forward, and they set to work. And most importantly of all, Asuka didn't bring up anything about the committee again.

**3637:00:00**

* * *

><p>Eight days. It had been over a week since Hikari's sister had died at a meeting that existed purely to protect people. Hikari remembered quite well all the things her sister had said. "I don't mind Nerv, but we can't use children," Nozomi had said.<p>

Hikari now agreed with her, and was sitting with several binders of classified Evangelion information at her desk. With nothing but that and pen and paper, she would create something. She would find a way to ensure Nerv could go down Heavy Chemical Industries' path of avoiding pilots, especially child soldiers.

The plans consumed her, but she wasn't going to show them until she knew they had a chance of working. Every time Toji dropped by, she pushed everything into a desk. Sometimes it was good to see him. Sometimes he just reminded her of Nozomi's death and it was all she could do not to hate him for that.

No matter what though, she couldn't help resenting him a little for distracting her from an idea that might save all of Nerv's children. Every hour wasted increased the chance the children would have to pilot against an Angel. That was almost too much for her to bear.

**3632:00:00**


	23. In which another boy moves

**In which another boy moves**

"_A flatterer is a secret enemy." – Hungarian proverb_

Daisuke heard the doorbell and rushed to the front door. His grandparents were in no particular hurry to get to it themselves, so he arrived first, and had the chance to open the door. There was his uncle, just as promised. "Hi!" Daisuke said happily, his face growing into a large smile. "My bag is in the living room, I'll go grab it."

Kaito sighed. "Don't you even wanna say goodbye?" he asked.

Daisuke just stared at his uncle, not even bothering to answer.

"Are they really that bad?" he asked, sighing yet again.

Daisuke still didn't say anything, but he moved out of the way, gesturing for Kaito to come in if he wanted to. Kaito decided he might as well say hello to his parents.

His mother (Daisuke's grandmother) was in the kitchen, working on a meal. The kitchen was as homey as she always kept it; different in design from their old one in Sapporo, but with the same affectations. A family portrait sat over the oven, the fridge was decorated with old pictures, a few doodads sat over the kitchen sink. Nothing of Daisuke was present, and some of his mother's pictures were there as if she'd never died. It was eerie.

"Hello Mom," he said.

"Hi Dear," she said, not looking up. "How's work?"

"It's going pretty great." Kaito looked at the pictures more closely. There was the family vacation to the Middle East; there was one in America… His own father had been a world traveler and loved taking his kids along. Mai had hated it, because of all the friends she kept in Japan. In the end she just ran out, and…

Kaito looked into the living room, where Daisuke stood with his backpack of stuff. "Well, I'm here to pick up Daisuke."

"You don't mind him living with you now?"

"Of course not," Kaito said. He liked his nephew. "Anyways, I'll probably be back tonight if it turns out he forgot something… Bye." He left with Daisuke, sighing.

"Don't take too much offense at it, Daisuke… They're…"

"Horrible people?" Daisuke finished, looking straight ahead as they walked down the corridor. He ignored every door they passed, clearly uninterested in any part of the building. Kaito guessed he hadn't made any friends in this place.

Kaito sighed yet again. His parents hadn't been particularly welcoming of Daisuke, no, but it was about his mother. "Look, at least you'll be living with me from now on, right?"

"Yeah… You won't be going anywhere else?"

"Er… I will be, probably. But I'll be staying in the country. The commander will just want me to be going to meetings and the like. It's getting a bit risky, travelling. The people around the world are sometimes frustrated with all, we expect a lot of out of them. Places like America are falling apart."

Daisuke didn't particularly care for the political lesson. "Are you leaving soon?" he asked, focusing more on his uncle's activities.

"Not for awhile. My last big mission probably satisfied Ikari." Daisuke wondered what it could have been, but didn't ask. He knew better.

**3629:44:28**

* * *

><p>The next day, Daisuke went to school and related his situation to the group of friends he did have; the two female Eva pilots and their associated group.<p>

"You moved in with your uncle? Congratulations!" Maya exclaimed. "He seems like a really cool guy, not at all like your grandparents..." She frowned, remembering her own grandparents without much fondness, and then of course the apathetic treatment of Daisuke's own. She wondered what it was with those sorts of people.

"Yeah," Shigeru said. "We can come visit him, right?"

"Your uncle…" Anita hesitated, trying to remember exactly who he was. "He works for Nerv?" she asked. "Right? Section Two?"

Daisuke nodded to both Shigeru and then turned to Anita. "He's head of Section Two, actually, not just working for it. Why do you ask?" he said.

"I… well, I was just curious." Anita looked around at everyone. "I mean… don't all of your parents work for Nerv in some capacity?"

"Mostly," Kyoko said. "This is a company town. The people who don't work for Nerv are like my parents, who run a service Nerv can't provide."

Ryoji snickered. The girls glared. "Sorry!"

"Your parents," Anita said suddenly, turning to Kyoko. "Are they really your mother and father?"

"Anita!" Maya cried. "That's rud-"

Kyoko shook her head sadly. "I'm adopted," she admitted. "Why?"

Anita sighed. "You're the only person here who even mentions her mother. No one else seems to have one."

Maya thought about that for a minute. Her mother was dead. Kyoko's was too, it seemed, and Daisuke's, and apparently Anita's too. Gendo didn't seem to have parents. What was with that? Was it some sort of bizarre Nerv employment requirement? "Don't have a wife, but have kids"? It didn't make a lot of sense, even in the form of coincidence, and since everyone was born after Second Impact there wasn't that for an excuse…

Kaede flounced over to the group. "Oh, Rii-chan!" she said brightly. "I have a message from your brother!"

"Don't call me that," Ritsuko muttered.

"He says that he's not going to be getting home on time and that he wants you to tell your dad." Kaede firmly ignored the rebuke.

"Can't he just call?" Ritsuko asked.

Kaede shrugged. "He says he'll be busy. You should take care of it yourself."

Ritsuko sighed. "Fine, whatever." Once Kaede had left, she leaned in to the circle of friends. "Like I will. I'm not his messenger."

Makoto laughed.

Anita looked over at Kaede and her two friends. "Why do you hate them so much?" she asked. "They seem nice…"

Ryoji stepped in for Ritsuko. "They're not. One's a slut, one's an idiot, and one's a follower."

"A… slut?"

"A whore," Ritsuko suggested. Anita shook her head.

"She wouldn't know words like that. Someone who sleeps around," Maya explained.

Anita shook her head again, confused. Maya realized then and there that this would take quite a bit of time to explain, and that the school was not the best place to do so, so the group moved back to criticizing the three girls.

"Anyway," Ritsuko started, "They only act nice as a shield. It's not what they're really like, they just behave that way so that the people who see them for what they really are can't fight back. You've probably seen social dynamics like that a lot, in movies..." She trailed off, remembering. Anita probably was exactly that sheltered. Maya wouldn't be surprised to learn that the movie Asuka had shown them had been the first the girl had seen.

Anita just shook her head again. "I don't know anyone who didn't act upfront," she said. "There wasn't any reason to behave that way in Nerv."

"Of course not," Makoto replied. "A military group wouldn't act like high schoolers."

"What's the point though?" Anita asked. "If they want to be nice, they can be, and if they don't, they don't have to be, do they? It's not like you can get in that much trouble for being rude."

Maya opened her mouth to answer, but stopped when Ritsuko pointed over to Satsuki's table, where a couple girls who didn't usually sit there had joined the trio. They both looked starstruck and so happy to be there. Maya thought Ritsuko probably had a better handle on things, and anyway she had a much nicer voice... A better way of putting things, really. "They get to be popular," she said. "That must be a nice distraction from the fact that they're horrible people."

Kyoko and Ryoji both laughed, but were cut off as the teacher, Strasberg, entered the room again. Lunch was over, and everyone had to push their desks back to their proper spots and get ready to learn again, which was a rather inconvenient approach to socializing.

Sometime later, walking to Nerv from school, Anita was shocked and horrified while Maya attempted to explain what sex was. Maya, for her part, found the whole thing very uncomfortable, and couldn't believe Anita didn't know what such a thing was at her age.

**3609:12:18**

* * *

><p>It was, Daisuke reflected, not at all unsurprising that Kaito's apartment was smaller than his grandparents'. Even though his grandparents were not employees of Nerv, they would of course get far better accommodations than the head of one of Nerv's seven departments. Money still bought some privilege, it seemed. He shook his head and started laid down on the bed.<p>

Last night had been perfectly all right, really. His uncle was friendly, and had cooked dinner, which had surprised Daisuke. His grandfather had never cooked, and Daisuke had just assumed that Kaito, raised in a somewhat traditional family, wouldn't know either. But instead, he could make a good meal. The two had sat and had a good conversation too, and Daisuke had convinced himself that perhaps this would be a better family than the one he'd had before.

But today, Kaito had simply left a note.

_Daisuke-_

_I will be working late tonight. I have a few instant meals lying about, and have also left enough yen for you to order out if nothing here strikes your fancy. I can't say when I'll be back, so please don't wait for me or stay up late. Your schoolwork is more important and I will probably have tomorrow off._

_Your loving uncle, Kaito_

Probably. Daisuke had a pretty good idea that that meant, "I should have it off but Nerv will probably expect me to do things anyway." Really, Daisuke thought, it shouldn't bother him so much. Nerv was the most important thing in the world, and his uncle controlled a seventh of it. They'd spend time together, eventually, and of course he had friends.

In fact, his birthday was coming up, he realized. He should have a party. His uncle would be much more willing to put up with children than his grandparents had ever been. Having a social life would be the best improvement possible, really.

**3608:50:00**


	24. In which Dr Ayanami is followed

**In which Dr. Ayanami is followed**

_"Just go the hell away!" - Neku Sakuraba, It's a Wonderful World, directed by Tatsuya Kando_

Gendo floated in LCL, serene. Another synch test was in progress, and today he was leading in terms of rate of gain. This was, admittedly, not a fair competition. Maya's Eva-01 was still locked up in repairs, and she was using a simulation based off of the real deal. This caused some damage to the synch ratio, according to Doctor Ayanami. Anita, however, was losing to him fairly, which felt good.

Captain Soryu oversaw the tests without much enthusiasm today. The instructions were simple, the tests they went through pathetically easy. A four-year old could have been put through these tests and not found them challenging in the least. Despite this, Maya complained over the radio.

"Maya, you're not advancing as much as you could be," Toji noted. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm tired," she responded. A conversation between her and Toji began, but Gendo didn't choose to listen to the girl's foolishness, preferring his own thoughts.

'Then go to sleep earlier,' Gendo thought bitterly. 'It's not our fault you keep focusing on homework.' They had three major assignments going on, one on geography, one on history, and one about some book. Gendo had yet to start any of them. He had not done one homework assignment in two years. His report card had come in with straight F's.

All the report cards he'd ever received had come in with straight F's, so he didn't much care. If he was still alive in April, he'd pass on to third year middle school like everyone else, just like he'd moved on to second year this past string. The commander thought school would be good for him, but he didn't think so. It would be much better to simply stay underground and train.

Besides, Doctor Ayanami was down here.

The test ended. Gendo climbed out of his Entry Plug happily and looked over at the other two. Anita was grumbling to herself about something, Maya looked weary. The two of them went out one door to the girls' locker room, he went the other way. A quick shower to wash the LCL and its distinctive smell off, a quick change into his uniform, a quick exit.

He'd done it how many times now? He'd been a pilot for nearly sixty-two weeks now, but two of them had been spent in the infirmary because of the Second Angel. So nearly sixty weeks. That meant… four hundred times. Far too many to think about, even though they were all exactly the same.

Doctor Ayanami remained unimpressed, but someday, somehow, Gendo knew that he would make her care. The only question was how. Perhaps the Sixth Angel would attack sooner than expected and he could impress her by being ready even though they would all be caught unawares. It was always worth a shot.

After changing, he searched for her. She was the only person who understood him and was thus the only person worth talking to. Like always, she was about to go to the elevators to her apartments, and like always, she stopped as soon as she saw Gendo.

"What?"

"Hello, Doctor."

She nodded curtly. She was always tired of him.

He came up with the best lie he could. "I was curious about my te-"

And the doctor knew he was lying as soon as he opened his mouth. It wasn't like he hadn't lied like this before, though. "You know how your test went."

"Yes," he admitted. He just didn't know what else to talk about.

Ayanami always hesitated here. When he'd asked, she said it was because she didn't want him to be able to find out where she lived. She feared he'd follow her there and she'd have to put up with him for the rest of her life, as after all he certainly wouldn't stay away from her apartment.

That was wrong, of course. Gendo knew that sooner or later he would die, and that when that happened, the Doctor would still be alive. He would return to nothing, despite everything the commander was doing. It was the only neat thing to do. And he wanted it more than anything.

"May I escort you?" he asked. It never hurt to ask.

"No." Doctor Ayanami pressed the "Close door" button on the elevator, and began her ascent. Today, though, Gendo was lucky. The other elevator was also right there (usually it was on one of the other eight hundred floors), and he joined the Doctor in her ascent to the surface. When the doors opened, she was leaving the building. He followed.

He followed her discreetly down the streets (she almost saw him twice), through the subway system (she went around the loop line twice, as if trying to make him lose her), and down a second set of straights (she didn't look behind her, she must have thought she should have lost him by that point). Excellent.

She went up to the fourth floor, room twenty-six. Perfect. As soon as the door shut, he went up and knocked.

Doctor Ayanami opened up the door and nearly screamed. "What the hell? What part of 'Don't follow me' is so hard to understand?" She looked angrier than he'd ever seen her before.

He stared a moment, shocked. Then he recovered and said, "I miss you when you're away, Doctor."

She glared. "Get away from me. Go away!"

Gendo sighed. "Please may I come in?"

She shut the door.

He knocked again. If Gendo watched movies or TV, he would have been surprised when she didn't answer again right away. As he did not, he was denied the chance to realize the cruel fact that people on TV are idiots.

Gendo, however, thought people were idiots anyway, so he might not have lost much. He stood outside her door for some time, not knocking. Finally, angrily, he walked away.

**3603:29:18**

* * *

><p>Rei looked out the front door. Finally the boy was gone. What the fuck was he doing? What the hell had she done to ever give him the impression that she cared about him in anyway? She didn't even think him worth the iron in his body.<p>

Well, okay, he could pilot. She didn't deny that. Hell, she trusted him to pilot more than she did Maya, who seemed like she was ready to quit at the drop of a hat, or Anita, who had been personally trained by Asuka. Personal attention from Asuka set off all kinds of alarm bells in Rei's head.

First things first, she picked up the phone and called Nerv. "I have a problem I want removed promptly," she said coldly. "Sedate him painfully too, when you take him out. And tell his guardian that he's a fucking stalker." That was one bit. She hung up the phone and dialed a different extension. "I need a new apartment," she said. "A spare one on that end of town? Good. I'll start moving right away." She hung up. Two problems fixed.

She decided to pull out some beers to steady her nerves. Asuka swore by it, which was obviously a bad sign, but even she couldn't be wrong all the time. One drink didn't work, so clearly another was going to be required. Several drinks didn't work. Stupid Asuka. Stupid, stupid, stupid, STUPID Asuka. That girl was the most annoying, self-centered…

She pulled out the sketchbook. There were several dozen pages left. This must have been the one she used in their last year. Her pencil began to sketch along the first empty page, drawing first a car, simple and generic. Then, under one of the tires (normally she hated drawing tires for some reason. Perhaps it was the texture of them) was a horrifically mangled body.

She wasn't sure whose it would be at first. Eventually, it became Gendo.

She was okay with that.

**3603:13:22**

* * *

><p>Gendo found himself at "home," shortly after. Asuka was trying (and failing) to cook dinner, but she was keeping herself in high spirits despite the horrible smells that were coming out of the pot. Anita was watching in something resembling terror, and Gendo decided then and there that he didn't really need to eat dinner that night.<p>

Gendo tried to simply sneak to his room and maybe not eat for the day, but Asuka saw him and called him over. "Come on, Gendo-kun! Join us! It's family time!"

"You're not my family," Gendo pointed out.

Asuka continued smiling. "Of course we are! We all live together and we all let each other see us for who we really are! That makes us family!"

Anita smiled, but Gendo suspected she was doing it to get along. Besides, it was obvious that Asuka was putting up a façade of some sort. No one could be that happy. Doctor Ayanami and Commander Ikari barely smiled, after all.

"So, how was school? I didn't get a chance to ask during the tests," Asuka asked, pouring one pot into another. Gendo cringed.

"I…" Anita hesitated. "I don't know." She was blushing slightly. Gendo wondered why.

"And you, Gendo?"

"I have no comment on school. It was pointless."

Asuka refused to take Gendo's sullenness for an answer. "Oh, come on! What did you guys learn about?"

"Tiananmen Square." Gendo wished he'd been there. It would be more pleasurable than being here.

"What about it?" Asuka asked, trying to force a conversation.

"Absolutely nothing interesting happened there ever," Gendo responded quickly. "I'm going to my room now." He walked away.

**3602:30:29**


	25. In which Asuka and Shinji almost eat

**In which Asuka almost has a meal with Shinji twice**

_"'We will not quarrel for the greater share of blame annexed to that evening,' said Elizabeth. 'The conduct of neither, if strictly examined, will be irreproachable; but since then, we have both, I hope, improved in civility.'" - Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austin_

Asuka lay back in bed, thinking. Shinji had asked her to let Gendo move in, and she'd agreed because at the time it had made some strange amount of sense. The boy was irritable or quiet, and he'd once asked her if he could just train all day. She'd said no, of course. That request was blatantly ridiculous.

Gendo needed help; in fact, he needed to be broken out of his shell. But Asuka had no idea how to arrange that. The person he seemed most interested in, Maya, didn't seem to want to be his friend (and really Gendo didn't seem to want to be her friend either; it was just an interest). She knew he was seeing a therapist, apparently her old friend Kotonoha, but how could Asuka do something that a professional couldn't?

Why did Shinji want everyone from that old class there anyways? He'd said some things to her… She didn't believe them now. Not with Rei and Toji and Hikari and Katsuko and Kaito… So many people. She was probably just the crown jewel in his collection. The proof that he could force anyone to come back to him or something like that.

Of course, it hadn't exactly been like that when he had invited her to join him at Nerv Command. And in all fairness, the increase in rank was something that Asuka had never dreamed of. But with all but one person from that one college class present now, it didn't seem likely that she actually had earned the position. If anyone else had been in charge, would she have been the top candidate, or would she still be toiling away in Germany, overseeing the construction of Eva-05?

How had that meeting gone, anyways?

**3600:45:18**

* * *

><p>Asuka walked into the restaurant, adjusting her uniform. It didn't fit. Her rapid ascension through the ranks, all the way to a captain, had had one downside. The tailor was a monumental idiot who couldn't measure his way out of a paper bag, and she hadn't had time to adjust this uniform herself. Sometimes she wondered if it was just another thing the commander of Nerv-03 did to harass her. Bastard.<p>

She looked at her watch briefly. It was eight-twenty. "Crap, I'm late," she muttered. "Stupid shift changes…" She looked around. 'I'm supposed to go to booth ten…' She looked for it.

The restaurant she was instructed to go to was far too fancy for her liking. The staff were dressed in formal wear, as was nearly every customer present. She felt a little awkward, as her dress uniform, though fancy, was still a uniform, and that stood out against the dresses and skirts of the other women present. She decided not to let it get to her though. She had other things to worry about.

There it was. And there he was, too. What the hell? What the hell was he doing here, in Germany?

"S- Shi…" She gulped as she stared into the man's blue eyes again. She lov- No. Not the time. "Ikari-sensei?"

He looked shocked to see her. Maybe he wasn't who she was looking for? "You, uh… wow… I almost didn't recognize you. The hair dye and all." Oh right. She blushed and fiddled with her hair. She'd had red hair when he'd seen her last.

"Uh… I'm supposed to be meeting a high-ranking Nerv officer here," she explained politely. "Something about a transfer." He would understand that and hopefully just let her go and find the real officer. She wouldn't have to talk to him.

"Yes. I'm the commander of Nerv Japan."

Asuka gasped. "Nerv Japan?" This had better be some kind of joke… Or maybe he was trying to make Nerv-Matsushiro sound cool. That must be it. If anything.

"Yes," he said.

"I… you…" Asuka gave up and focused on adjusting her uniform.

"I…" Shinji took a deep breath. "This isn't anything personal. It's because you're… well, you're the best candidate."

"You're asking me to go back to Japan?"

He nodded.

"But… my position here! The Second Child!" The Commander here. That bastard needed to pay for everything he'd done.

"I can't force you," Shinji said calmly. "But you should be aware that the Second Child is going to be transferred to Japan soon. The Second Angel arrived in Tokyo-3 six days ago. The war has begun."

"The second? But-" It occurred to her then that Second Impact had featured the First Angel. She was completely wrong of course, but it was a reasonable guess. "I did wonder why her training schedule was stepped up…"

Shinji nodded. "I want you for a position in Nerv-Japan. The head of tactical operations."

"Me? But-" Asuka stared in shock. She wasn't low-ranking, but she didn't have a lot of experience either. Could she really be the person that was the best for the job?

"You're the highest ranked Nerv employee who is both qualified for the position and fluent in Japanese," Shinji explained, as if he knew the very question she was asking in her head. "You also have accelerated through the ranks almost as quickly as I have. I need you for this, Asuka. I know you hate me, but this isn't about me."

Those were the wrong words to say, even if he was right. Asuka's eyes narrowed. "You… Six years! Six years since I left, and this is the first thing you say to me? You never even tried to make contact! And now you call me like this? Like-"

Like a servant.

"I know. It's wrong, but this isn't about you and me. This is about saving mankind."

"Why should I give a crap about mankind?" She didn't mean to say that. She did care about mankind. It was Shinji she couldn't bring herself about.

"Then, not mankind… Care about the Second Child."

Asuka's mouth hung open in disgust. "I never thought you'd stoop so low as to try and manipulate me," she said angrily.

"I don't want to," he whispered.

"Funny way of showing it."

Shinji just glared in return. "Three billion people, Asuka! Three billion people and I could have saved them. I have to do what it takes to save the rest."

"I'm not talking about them! I'm talking about you and me! You… you can't…"

She looked at him. If he hurt, he didn't show it. She sighed. "I'll think about it," she said at last. It was just a job. Working under him couldn't be so bad. Not as bad as working under her father.

"I understand, but please respond soon."

Asuka nodded in response. "Did you ever miss me?"

"Yes, I did." Shinji held out a card. "Take this. Call me when you decide."

She took it. "I will," she assured him. "Of course I will." She left then, uninterested in having dinner with him. She'd had far too many dinners with Ikari Shinji. Having one with him in Germany wouldn't be all that interesting.

**4244:30:18**

* * *

><p>That was what he had said. Asuka didn't know if it any of it was real or not. It probably wasn't, she decided eventually.<p>

The next day, she got up early and left before either Anita or Gendo got up. They'd be able to make it to school just fine. She wished she could have been able to greet them with breakfast though. Perhaps Gendo could be more pleasant in the mornings. She'd have to find out tomorrow. Today, it was time for a breakfast meeting with Commander Baka.

She arrived in his office hesitantly. "What's up?" she asked.

"Hello, Captain," he said. "I wanted to have a meeting. That's all."

Meetings. That's all he did lately.

"What about?"

"It's about preparations for the Sixth Angel," he explained.

"Oh, right…" Asuka tried to smile. "Eva-01 is still being repaired?"

"Unfortunately. They say the legs are working again, but not the arms. Ibuki couldn't possibly pilot that thing without being in a lot of pain." He looked down, apparently horrified at the mere thought. Asuka smiled a little. He had a good heart; that had to count for something. But unfortunately, it didn't count for enough, and the logic of the situation was all too clear to her.

"Then, why are we talking? Eva-00 and Eva-02 are fine, there's not much I can do with them except what we're already doing."

"It's not about them. It's about a new prototype."

"Eva-03?" Asuka was shocked. "But it's not supposed to be finished for months!"

Shinji shook his head. "A while ago, we acquired what was left of the Jet Alone program. They had one prototype that wasn't destroyed, and the UN recently gave us the approval to obtain it for use here in Tokyo-3."

"It doesn't have an AT Field, though," the captain responded, completely unimpressed.

The commander grinned. It was... Asuka didn't know what emotion it was meant to convey. Not enthusiasm, nor bloodlust... Not even triumph. Just a smile. "But it does have weapons. Let someone else cancel out the AT Field, and it can do damage. At least, that's the plan."

"Why are you talking to me about this?" Asuka asked. "I mean, obviously you'd need to tell me, but we don't need to have a full meeting about it."

Shinji fidgeted uncomfortably. "Uh…"

She looked at the food on the table before them, and a horrific thought clicked in her head. "Is this just some stupid excuse to wine and dine me?"

"I-"

"Forget it, Commander! I'm not some stupid college girl and I don't have time for this anyways! Why should I stay here if all we're doing is letting you pretend to have a girlfriend?" She stood up angrily. "No. If you want to have an actual relationship, you're going to do it the right way. Is there any actual business we need to discuss?"

"I just thought…"

"I already had a non-work relationship with one commander. It just… it made everything all too screwed up." She began to walk away. "And it's not fair of you to be like this anyways. You broke everything off, remember?"

She left.

A door behind Shinji opened, and Rei stepped out. "I told you it wouldn't work," she said. Her eyes were bloodshot.

"What were you doing in there?" Shinji asked angrily.

"I needed a place to hide from Gendo this morning. He found out where I live. He stood outside my door for an hour. And I saw him board a subway on my way here."

Shinji shook his head. "Wow," he muttered. "That's pretty…" He trailed off. Gendo's lack of understanding when it came to social structures was becoming a bit of a problem.

Rei smirked. "Clearly he's becoming bolder though, if that's what you're after. But perhaps it's a waste of time with him?"

"I can't believe that, Rei. He can become more human. Without his cooperation, the world is going to end sooner or later."

"Perhaps it should."

There was a cold silence for a time after that.

Rei sighed. "I've selected an operator for Jet Alone, by the way. Just to give it the directions." Shinji didn't respond. "And there're a few new weapon proposals that Asuka have approved that you might have to look over." Again, silence. She sighed again. "Look, I'm sorry. The kid just gets to me, okay?"

Shinji looked down. "Why, though?"

The doctor didn't say anything this time.

**3592:55:18**


	26. In which the Sixth Angel awakens

**In which the Sixth Angel awakens**

"_Setting an example is not the main means of influencing another, it is the only means." - Albert Einstein_

Again Maya was relieved when they got to lunch. Another stupid class had gone by where they hadn't learned anything. The teacher felt like an incompetent half the time and he was… well, he was pretty clearly a liar of some sort. Ritsuko had said he was a foreigner and his name suggested German descent, but he had a Japanese accent and couldn't pronounce Anita's name.

Maybe he was just another Nerv employee. It would explain a lot about his incompetence, if he wasn't really a teacher, but just some goon who looked after the kids.

She looked around the classroom. Gendo was absent, which was unusual. Nothing had happened to him yesterday, as far as she knew… Anita had also decided not to show up. Had Maya forgotten some important announcement or something? She hoped not, it would be far too embarrassing.

Everyone was clustering around Ritsuko's desk, pushing a few desks together so they could enjoy lunch. Maya joined them, taking up a bit of space between Shigeru and Ryoji. Daisuke sat on Shigeru's other side, and beyond him was Ritsuko, then there was Kyoko, and finally Makoto completed the circle. It was great having friends like them.

"I don't suppose you know when the next Angel is attacking?" Ritsuko asked. "I'm tired of bringing a camera back and forth."

Maya glared. "Why are you still bothering with that kind of stuff, anyways? You're going to get yourself killed!"

"Our shelter is up on a hill away from the city," Ryoji explained. "Everyone in 2-A goes there. When we snuck outside last time, we were pretty far away from everything. My camera just has a really good zoom function!" He grinned.

Maya shook her head. "That battle was away from the city! The two-"

"Just stop bothering," Kyoko interjected. "It's not worth it. I don't wanna have to listen to this fight every time the idea comes up."

Maya sighed. "Fine. I have no clue when the Sixth Angel will show up, by the way. No one does. They just seem to be attacking at random."

"So one could show up today?" Ritsuko seemed excited.

"Yes, sure, why not?"

Makoto rolled his eyes at Ritsuko. "You are by far the worst Class Representative I've ever met. Are you actually encouraging people to sneak out of the shelters?"

Ritsuko blushed. "Well, at first I was just following Ryoji, yelling at him, but... Something about seeing that battle. It was amazing."

"That's not all that you've done that's pretty pathetic for a Class Rep," Makoto joked. "Do you ever actually enforce the cleaning rules?"

The class rep looked away. "Well…"

"Or anything else?"

Ritsuko fidgeted uncomfortably.

"Do you smoke after school, too?" he continued.

"Of course not!" Ritsuko protested. "It's bad enough that Shiro smokes whenever he gets the chance! Hell, all my family does. Ugh… It smells disgusting."

Makoto and Shigeru exchanged a doubting look. "Sure…." they said in synch.

Ritsuko glared at both. "Seriously! Naoko would kill me!"

Maya considered speaking up, but then Daisuke approached. "Oh, hi," she said. "Uh… what's up?"

"Uh… my birthday's this weekend… Saturday… I'm turning fourteen and all. I was wondering if you guys were interested in coming…" He looked at the rest of the group. "All of you, of course. Even Gurrifisu-san and Rokubungi…"

"That sounds fun!" Maya said. "Uh, it's in the afternoon, right?" The morning would probably have too much training for her or the other pilots to be able to show up.

Daisuke nodded and looked at everyone else. Most everyone agreed, except Shigeru, who had to visit his little brother. Maya agreed to inform the other two pilots as soon as possible, but pointed out that Gendo was highly unlikely to actually show up. "He's basically as anti-social as you can get."

"I don't mind, I just thought it would be rude not to invite him." Daisuke smiled at Maya and then went back to his own desk.

"I still think you like him, Maya," Ritsuko joked.

Maya flushed. "I don't!"

No one believed her.

"I don't!" she said again, more vehemently. "Honestly! This is something elementary schoolers do, you know! Why can't you guys just grow up?"

"Do you have a boyfriend back home?" Kaji asked. "I'm sure the papers would love that!"

Maya opened her mouth to begin a tirade. "No, I…" And then she sighed, remembering what Kyoko had said earlier. "Let's not talk about this, okay? It's pointless. You won't believe me and it doesn't really matter what I say."

Ritsuko shrugged. "Whatever you want," she said.

"You shoulda tried that with the whole rumor that you were related to the commander of Nerv," Ryoji added jokingly. "Maybe it would have died a lot quicker instead of..." He shot a glance over towards Satsuki. "Blossoming..."

They ate in silence for awhile. Then, Ritsuko asked, "So what is it like piloting?"

Maya gulped. "Well... when I synch with an Evangelion, it's... Honestly, it's really hard to describe." She sat in silence for a little while, trying to find the perfect words. The conversation almost picked up again, but she interrupted it. "It's like I'm perfectly safe. Well, lately anyways. At first it was just scary, but I think that's because I was kind of thrown at an Angel."

"So it's calming?" Shigeru asked. "That's unusual."

"Yeah, I guess…"

The lunch bell rang.

**3588:00:00**

Rei hated going into the level that held the Eva cages. The Evangelion, though she knew them better than anyone else, disturbed her on some level, and the workers here were of such low rankings she barely found them worth her time. But of course, everyone else was busy, so it was now her job to gather the status reports. And there was another, more secretive job that needed doing. One she couldn't trust to anyone else.

She had told Shinji she'd selected an operator, and that was true enough, but what she had neglected to mention was that she had not actually told the candidate that he had an additional job. That seemed important, especially as the Angel's attack was only five days away according to the Scrolls.

The elevator door opened, and she stepped out into the halls and navigated them calmly. She knew them by heart, and might very well have been the only human being to truly understand the layout of Nerv's HQ. She entered Eva-01's cage and approached the workers. "How do repairs go?" she asked, looking up at the Evangelion.

"As well as we could expect," Keita muttered. "We expect to finish up sometime over the weekend, I think." He turned to Takeru. "That right?"

Takeru nodded.

"You," Rei said, smiling softly. "Come with me. You have a new assignment." She turned and began walking.

Takeru stared in shock. "But, ma'am, I…" He gulped. "Well… The Evangelion unit still needs-"

"Now," Rei said coolly. "We need you trained as soon as possible. An Angel could attack tomorrow." Not true, she reminded herself, but an effective threat all the same. Rei saw immediately the benefits of restricting access to the Dead Sea Scrolls, and why Seele did so. Information was power. She began to walk away. Hesitantly, Takeru followed, not at all understanding what sort of training an adult could receive that would help deal with the Angel problems.

**3587:32:28**

Anita sat at home, watching television. Asuka hadn't ever said she had to go school, so she didn't see the need to bother. Maya might have been something like a friend, but she was really the only interesting one and had plenty of other friends. She wouldn't miss Anita one day. Besides, the teacher had failed to teach her anything at any point so far. Well, actually, he'd brought up a lot of things she'd never heard of before. She'd never heard of China until that class. But that wasn't the same as teaching, she though.

The problem was, all the information he wanted to impart on her was useless for being a pilot. China's location was completely irrelevant because it was not within the five minute radius of an Evangelion that wasn't plugged in. Tiananmen Square was also useless. She didn't care who had died there once. Lots of people died all over the place. Today, over a hundred million people would die.

That information was useless too, but someone had told her how many people died a day. She was surprised that any human beings were left at that rate, let alone the idea that the population was slowly climbing. The amount of effort that would go into making over a hundred million children… It was unthinkable to her, even now that she knew exactly how one child could be made.

At any rate, today she had not been told to go to school, and while she knew that she was expected to go every day, she could at least get out of it today. It was the only day she'd be able to make this excuse, because Asuka would catch on and demand she go to school every day it was in session, whether she was told to in the morning or not, but one day was worth it. She'd turned on the television, and watched it disinterestedly. The news, the weather, sports… All stupid. Reality television, as it called itself? Disgusting. Not a single show managed to capture her attention.

The books Asuka kept failed to do anything helpful either, and all the radio stations in Tokyo-3 played a sickening kind of music that made Anita wish she could strangle the artists responsible for the travesty. Asuka kept a computer, but it was in her room and password protected besides.

Anita wished she could be piloting. That would be useful. The Sixth Angel might attack tomorrow, but not a single member of Nerv seemed to care. She'd explained to many of them that she might fall behind the Angels without the chance to improve herself. Not a one of them agreed that her point was relevant.

Even Asuka, the one person she trusted most, disagreed with her on this issue. This was disheartening, since Asuka had been the only sane man at Nerv-03. Perhaps she had lost her edge here. Her attempts the previous night to interact with the Third Child had been most pathetic. Who cared if he didn't want to talk to people? Like her, he thought that training was the best thing to do.

It was the only thing to do.

**3586:10:00**

Deep in the Sargasso Sea, the Sixth Angel awoke. It would arrive in Tokyo-3 the next day, regardless of the message of the Dead Sea Scrolls. They weren't true prophecies, after all. Just words.

**3587:00:00**


	27. In which the Sixth Angel arrives

**In which the Sixth Angel arrives**

_"I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: 'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.'" - Book of Isaiah, Author Disputed_

"You're going to school today. Both of you." Asuka glared down at the two children sitting at her kitchen table, slowly working their way through their cereal. "Understand?"

Anita nodded slowly. Gendo just took another spoonful of food.

"Honestly, I go away for one morning and when I came back, Maya was coming by with all the homework you'd need to do. Just because I'm not around doesn't mean you can skip!"

Neither child said anything. Asuka, still angry but without a fair target, forced herself to take revenge upon the dishes by scrubbing them extra hard. Stupid kids. If she had been in their shoes as a child, she would have protested a bit, even if only because she had an image to keep up. But she still expected better of them, especially Anita, who was usually so good about these things. That had been one of the reasons they'd gotten along so well, really.

Shortly after, both children finished their breakfast, washed up, gathered up their things, and left the apartment. Reluctantly, they went to the subway system, both knowing that it wouldn't be worth it to have to listen to Asuka rant again.

"Besides," Anita muttered, "what if she drives us somewhere?"

Gendo didn't say anything in response.

Anita, curious if she could get the boy to speak at all, asked, "So why don't you want to go to school?" She knew the answer, of course, but maybe the conversation would impress Asuka.

Gendo didn't say anything in response though. He just kept walking on, barely making any noise at all. Anita had to look down just to make sure his shoes were actually touching the pavement below them, and she still couldn't tell if he was breathing or not. He was an impressive kid.

They walked in silence for awhile, cutting through the throng of people. No one paid them any attention; Anita wondered if anyone in this city knew who the pilots were. In Germany she hadn't been able to go out in public because everyone knew who she was. An armed guard couldn't keep people who wanted to see their savior away.

She didn't know if she liked it this way better. The sun was beautiful; she hadn't been able to truly enjoy it in so long. It wasn't like she'd been locked up, but…

Looking at Gendo's pale skin, she wondered if he had been locked up all the years he'd been a pilot. Even on this cool summer day he looked uncomfortably warm, and he kept looking down, away from the sun. Anita had been allowed outside back in Germany, usually in Eva-02, but still. The sun was part of training. She had to know its motion through the sky, the best way to fire at a target in its general direction, things like that. If Gendo was unused to the sun, how did they expect him to perform similarly?

Her thoughts were interrupted as the sound of alarms rang through the city. Gendo and Anita turned to face each other. They both grinned.

**3568:33:55**

* * *

><p>Takeru sat at a computer console in the command center uncertainly. There were dozens of controls on this modified unit, and all of them were connected to a giant robot that was not of an Evangelion persusaion. "Are you sure I'm the one you want for this job?" he asked Rei, who stood over him.<p>

"You're the only one for it at this point. There's not enough time to explain the controls to anyone else," she explained. 'Why did I lie and tell Shinji I already had an operator?'

Takeru continued to look at the console that had been set up, trying to remember everything that Rei had explained. Every command was labeled well enough, but the exact order of some operations continued to elude him. "And you say that this thing will be controlling that Jet Alone robot?" Stupid question, but one that would establish whether or not

"Correct."

"Geez, I thought you were just messing with me or something..."

"Well, you were wrong." Rei looked up at the screens displaying the Sixth Angel as it approached. They weren't real-time video, but a stream of pictures taken every two and a half seconds. Any faster and the pictures were useless, replaced with strange white silhouettes that discomforted. Perhaps it was the way the city itself seemed to twist in the background, like it was insubstantial. Like it wasn't real at all.

The creature was… the first polite adjective that came to Ayanami's mind was "red." After that, she wasn't sure if it was phallic or vaginal. One minute it was a solid body, the next it looked like a hollow shell. Rei looked away from the Angel. It was too disgusting to keep looking at. To be honest, she felt bad for the pilots.

Kensuke spoke up. "Ma'am?"

"Yes, Lieutenant?"

"Eva-01 still needs repairs, we can't sortie it now."

"I'm aware of that." Rei looked around. "Where's the cap-"

Asuka ran in. "Sorry! There was a bit of a jam in traffic. Whose idea was it to make every lane outgoing?"

Rei smirked slightly, and pointed up to the Sixth Angel. "Here is the Angel," she said, preferring to get right down to things now that Asuka was here. "We can't detect any signs of weapons or offensive capabilities. Its form isn't metallic, and none of its body parts seem to be capable of reacting the way the Third Angel's did…"

"That doesn't mean it doesn't have a few tricks up its sleeve. Are the Second and Third ready to launch?"

"Yes," Rei said.

"Good. Move out!"

**3567:51:14**

* * *

><p>The road opened up and Eva-00 was lifted out from the underground. Eva-02 was brought up a few blocks away. The Sixth Angel was in sight now.<p>

Gendo grinned. This fight was going to be pathetically easy. The Angel didn't even give him a headache like the other ones had. Twenty seconds into the battle, he'd reached a gun tower and pulled out a pallet rifle. He frowned. Captain Soryu had mentioned that some new guns had been designed, but where were they?

No. It didn't matter.

He swung around to face the Angel. Two hundred meters away. Excellent. He began to fire as it entered the range of the rifle. Some bullets fired at the Angel from the side suggested that Anita had found a gun.

"You have to cancel out the AT Field!" he heard Suzuhara shout over the radio.

'Fine, fine…'

He charged towards the Angel, holding Eva-00's AT Field in front of him. Naturally, of course, things wouldn't be that easy. As he charged, the Angel, which had been hovering horizontally above the ground, turned its body so it was shaped like a 'Z. Then two whips made of plasma (or something similar) appeared, one on each side of the main body.

Gendo tried to slow Eva-00, but it was much too late for that, and the two AT Fields met, cancelling each other out, just in time for a whip to slap Eva-00 across the face. Gendo flinched. His cheek burned as if the skin had just melted away, leaving muscle underneath.

A few shots flew past Eva-00, no doubt from Eva-02, connecting with the Angel and pushing it back a little, but it seemed mostly undamaged. This thing was a rejection-type Angel through and through.

Gendo looked for the core. It hid under the creature's head and was going to be impossible to get to in close combat as long as those whips were there. At least he still had his gu-

No, that changed, too. The whip rushed forward and tore the gun apart, singeing Eva-00's hand. Gendo nearly cried out. Anita was still shooting, but it was accomplishing nothing. Dammit.

**3567:37:30**

* * *

><p>A group of students clustered on a hill overlooking Tokyo-3. Ritsuko was leading the way, holding a camera. Ryoji and Shigeru were also present, and Makoto had come along hesitantly.<p>

None of them liked what they saw. The Angelic form seemed to twist and writhe; following any lines on the body was impossible, you just ended up looking at a building or a tree or something else put there by humanity or nature. Something safe. Even the plasma whips seemed less like whips and more like tangled bushes, and looking at one soon had you looking at the other as if it was an endless loop.

"Can we go inside now?" Shigeru whispered.

"Not yet!" Ritsuko cried. "There's so many pictures to take!" She kept taking them, not even commenting on the battle.

Ryoji looked at it, wondering how Gendo and Anita were doing. It didn't seem to be going well, but he wasn't an expert by any means. In the battle against the Fifth Angel, it had seemed as if Nerv had kept the Angel distracted from the Evangelions by suicide attacks on the part of the planes and boats in the harbor.

This time, that option wasn't even being considered. Tokyo-3's airspace, usually abuzz with airplanes, was completely empty. The only things moving in the city were the two Evas and their enemy. At least, at first. But then something else appeared.

**3567:35:35**

* * *

><p>Jet Alone was launched. This was a desperate idea, even by Asuka's standards. The unit was no different than the one used previously. Too much damage and it was very likely to go nuclear. But since Eva-00 had cancelled the AT-Field, it had a chance of getting in and doing some damage.<p>

Unlike the Evangelion units, it had its own built-in weaponry. It was capable of using more, but today Asuka didn't see the need to try that. Its goal was simple. Fire upon the Angel until it was distracted enough to let Anita go in for a kill.

Takeru nodded when he heard the directions, and pressed a few buttons. Chest plates on Jet Alone opened up, revealing guns. It began to fire heavily at the Angel.

Much to everyone's surprise, it actually did some damage.

The Sixth Angel began to turn to it, but in doing so, it exposed its core properly to Anita's fire. It swung the other way again, realizing its mistake, but Gendo began to fire too. Confused, it charged forward, hoping to swing between the two Evangelion and then turn around and destroy one.

Gendo got a lucky shot in and managed to shoot off one of the plasma whips. Immediately the wound began to heal, but Gendo didn't care. It was the whip closer to Anita, so she now had a chance.

"Second Child!" he ordered. "Run in and stab the core!"

Eva-02 nodded and dived in, knife outstretched, ready to twist into the "heart" of the Angel. In five seconds the core of the Angel exploded.

Another successful battle.

**3567:30:12**

* * *

><p>Maya watched sadly as Gendo and Anita came out of their respective locker rooms. She was glad they'd been successful, of course, but she was a pilot too, and she should have been out there, just in case. She was also slightly disturbed to see her two co-pilots exchange a small grin. Neither seemed like the smiling type.<p>

The two of them were then sent to debriefing, while Maya had to stay behind. She'd asked Doctor Ayanami if she could watch a visual replay of the battle, but was told that all information was highly classified from non-participants. It had just been a battle! What was the big deal?

Maya felt she didn't understand Nerv at all.

**3567:15:00**


	28. In which Seele meets

**In which Seele meets**

_"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." - Epistle to the Ephesians, by Paul_

Shinji sat at a table in a dark room. Kaworu stood behind him. They were two minutes early, but were still surprised that the meeting hadn't yet begun. The chairwoman was usually ten minutes ahead of schedule. They exchanged an awkward glance.

Shinji fidgeted uncomfortably, not saying anything, almost as if he was afraid that Kaworu would pull out a knife and stab him now that he had his back turned. He wondered why Kaworu didn't take a chair beside him; the holograms that were due for arrival would only be appearing on the other sides of the table so it wouldn't be impossible to make a little bit of room for the Vice-Commander. Of course Kaworu probably would refuse, coming up with a reason that sounded valid but didn't quite dismiss the irrational fear that someday he would attempt to kill Shinji for some inexplicable reason.

"So..." Kaworu stood there, smiling, but his attitude was also a little uncomfortable. He thought that Shinji was a good man, but was well aware that Shinji loathed him, which made conventional conversation impossible. Kaworu considered bringing up something related to business, the only safe topic, but of course everything worth saying about that would be covered in the upcoming meeting.

Shinji sighed, and decided to ask a single question. "Any idea why she-"

So naturally, he was cut off by the sudden arrival of one of the other people participating in the meeting. An image flicked into existence, of a chair and a Russian man sitting in it. The man was almost unfathomably old, and he squinted at Shinji and Kaworu despite his over-large glasses. "Mr. Pechalov reporting in."

Kaworu nodded respectfully, Shinji as little as would he could get away with. "How go things at Nerv-04, sir?" Shinji asked.

Before Pechalov could answer, two more chairs on the other end of the table from him flickered into existence, each holding an old man. Both of them, and Pechalov, were in military uniform, though Shinji doubted any had ever actually served in a military capacity. Risking life and limb didn't exactly seem like it would appeal to either of them.

"Mr. Lache reporting in." This man was clearly the oldest of them all. Shinji was amazed that his skin stayed on, it seemed so wrinkled that by all rights it should have torn on the simplest thing and then simply fallen away.

"Mr. Cochrane." The Englishman didn't even bother showing his true form, instead making a holographic of an old man who didn't look like he was ten years dead. Occasionally he hadn't even bothered with that, and presented a geometric shape which spoke eerily.

Nods were exchanged all around. Before anyone could say anything else, an image of an old woman appeared in a chair opposite Shinji and Kaworu. Half of her face was covered in strange metal plating, to the extent that her hair had been shaved away except on the back half of her head. She didn't say anything.

For the first time, Shinji nodded more respectfully. "Madam Chairman."

"Ikari-san. Congratulations on the defeat of Shamshel yesterday." Her accent, despite the fact that she was based in Germany, was perfectly Japanese. Shinji suspected that underneath all that hideous metal was a Japanese face, but he didn't know. He wasn't even entirely sure of her name. The chairman nodded at Kaworu.

"Is that what the Dead Sea Scrolls designate it as?" Shinj asked, knowing that only now that the danger was past would he be told the various secrets of the Dead Sea Scrolls. "I'm guessing it wasn't the Sixth Angel, by the way. It attacked too soon."

"Correct," Mr. Pechalov said, his voice hideously rough because of his immense age. "And no, it was not the First Angel."

Shinji frowned. "Are you ever going to reveal what the story behind that is, Pechalov? Madam Chairman?"

"We can't say anything than we normally have," she reported coldly. "You are to be ready for its appearance, and to accept any declarations of an XK-class scenario that might result."

Shinji nodded. "I understand Kaworu's real purpose here." He frowned. "Where is Mr. Green?"

"Evangelion Unit 04 has recently been redesignated. It is no longer a Production Model, but now a Next Generational Test Bed. Its provisional German pilot has been reassigned as well, to Eva-05. We have assimilated as much data as possible from Kushiel and Shalgiel and are planning to replicate an S2 Engine. He is presumably busy making the alterations, because this is the most . I myself recently left the plant in Germany where replication just began."

Shinji nodded. "Good. We need to be able fight the Angels on an equal footing."

"And then we will use the S2 Engines for the betterment of mankind," Kaworu said brightly.

"Of course," the Chairman said. "The use of S2 Engines will be released to 'public' use as soon the war is concluded." She smiled rapturously. "Who knows? All the damage of the past fifteen years might be undone. Perhaps every death that's ever happened," she added, looking knowingly at Shinji.

Shinji felt a tremor of sadness building up in him, but he pushed on. "Five Angels have been defeated," he said. "Will you at least tell me how soon the Scrolls predict the resolution of the War?"

The Chairman shook her head. "All information pertaining to the Scrolls are classified until Volumes Three through Six are properly translated."

"That's what you said two years ago. Haven't you made any progress?" Shinji asked, frustrated.

"Speaking of progress, how is Evangelion Unit-01 coming along?" Cochrane asked in a synthetic voice that made him sound almost young. Shinji liked him least of all. He seemed most fanatical of the four regular committee members that met him with the Chairman.

"Its repairing is on schedule. The last estimate I heard was that they wanted to synch the First Child with it on the tenth. Every committee member smiled at the news. Shinji hated that.

"You'll be pleased to know that the JSSDF will be completing a Positron Rifle soon. Might I recommend collecting it by then?"

Shinji also hated it when the Chairman did that. Hoping to stave off the immediate commentaries, he tried changing the subject. "You'll be glad to know that the mechas that we have under control all performed admirably in the last battle."

"Including Jet Alone?"

Shinji gulped. "Yes."

"The budget for that… Extraordinary. Between that and the repairs that seem to inevitably result from Angel battles… You've bankrupted entire countries, you know."

"I thought it was necessary, Madam Chairman. How else will we defeat the Angels?"

"Perhaps necessary, Ikari, but that does not mean that we aren't hurting thousands in the meantime. One of your previous officers..." she paused in recollection, "Um, the Ibuki woman, I believe, had a much better handle on the budget. Perhaps we were in error, giving full and unchecked control to you. The stirrings to remove Nerv and replace it with the JSSDF are continuing to grow. And the Angels aren't your only concern." She was perfectly cool, and Shinji knew she had a point, even if she didn't ever intend to let the JSSDF take over.

"Instrumentality remains," Lache noted coolly. Shinji struggled to understand him through his French accent. "Even when all the Angels have been defeated, much needs to be done for mankind."

"I am aware," Shinji said. "I have been working for that particular part of the project since Ibuki Mari died. The entirety of the Instrumentality Project weighs very heavily on me."

"As it should," the Chairman said. "Is there anything else to discuss? The future Evangelion units, perhaps?"

"Mr. Green would need to be here to comment on Evangelion Unit-03 or the training of its pilot. Your German bases are constructing Units Four and Five," Mr. Cochrane said calmly. "Does the Marduk Institute have any new information on the potential candidates?"

"It is uninterested in making any new selections until Eva-05... Er, Eva-06 is closer to completion," Kaworu explained. "It is still keeping an eye on the same number of children, however. And of course, if one is needed, it will find a good candidate for the Eva-04 project as well."

"I suppose that will have to suffice," the Chairman said. "Gentlemen, you're dismissed." The three old men disappeared, much to Shinji's relief. All of them were absolutely horrifying. The Chairman took a long, hard look at Shinji. "We cannot turn back now, you know. Instrumentality is the inevitable conclusion to the Dead Sea Scroll Prophecies."

"I am aware," Shinji said. "Mankind is lost without it."

"Goodbye, Ikari. My line is always open. Should the worst occur, you simply need to call. I trust your judgment on determining an XK-class scenario, but of course in the heat of the moment bad decisions can be made. I feel I can be a completely calm source of ideas in the event of a truly dangerous event."

"Thank you, Madam Chairman. Goodbye." Shinji sighed a little, tired. 'Why don't you just admit you don't trust me to do this?' he thought. 'I know that you don't want me for this job...' Even a group like Seele wasn't united, and he had been selected for power despite her objections, because every other member had voted for him as a candidate. Even Kaworu.

She disappeared.

Shinji sat back in his seat, weary. "I hate these holographic conversations…"

"It is rather inconvenient how we have to meet them so late at night," Kaworu agreed. "But time zones are something we all must live with."

"Wish I could change that."

"Perhaps Instrumentality will," Kaworu said happily. "Imagine all mankind in perfect unison. What would we care for the sun's position, or the moon's, or the stars'?"

"I can't imagine," Shinji said dryly.

"Neither can I. That's what makes it so wonderful to contemplate. It will be all heavens wrapped into one, I think. Whatever that feels like."

Shinji rose. "I don't suppose you have access to the Dead Sea Scrolls?"

"Not the originals, but photo copies."

Smiling falsely, he asked, "Might I borrow them? Volume I, at least?"

"Nice try, Commander, but the Scrolls are classified for a reason. We wouldn't want anyone to get their hands on the prophecies before they were fulfilled. As it is, clearly there are a few translation errors. I mean, the Sixth Angel woke up a little to quickly and to be honest our obtaining Jet Alone wasn't mentioned anywhere in there either."

Shinji's smile disappeared. Human affairs were part of the Scrolls? "Anything about me in there?"

"Not so far." Kaworu smiled.

"Then I suppose we're done here, Nagisa. Please leave."

"Of course, sir." And so he did.

Shinji rose out of his chair, looking at the holographic projections. "Figures… They know what's coming, but they won't help."

He left as well. Maybe he could get in a few good hours of sleep before the next day.

**3551:42:48**


	29. In which progress is made

**In which progress is made**

_"I'm just going through a phase right now. Everybody goes through phases and all, don't they?" - Holden Caulfield, Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger_

Gendo sat down on the couch angrily. "I don't see why we have to be doing this? Can't we just skip a week?" he demanded.

Katsuko sighed. "The Commander still wants these meetings to be weekly, and besides, Doctor Ayanami is greatly concerned about your recent behavior." She fiddled with a pencil. She was kind of scared too. Gendo hadn't shown any warning signs before stalking the doctor, at least as far as she knew. Was this a new thing? Was this another thing she'd been able to find because the information on his past was completely classified?

"I don't care," Gendo responded. "It is irrelevant."

No point in beating around the bush. The truth was going to come out one way or another. "Why did you insist on following Doctor Ayanami to her home?"

"Because I wanted to."

"But why did you want to?" she pressed on.

Gendo refused to respond.

Katsuko glared for a moment before regaining composure. Clearly, she told herself, it was just that she was uncomfortable in the chair. She rose and began to pace back and forth the room, looking at the walls. She knew every inch of this room, having placed the pictures and bookshelves herself to make it look as bright and inviting as possible without crossing into the zone where the patient would become irritated. It wasn't helping her feel relaxed, though.

"Gendo, you do realize that the more you cooperate, the happier we'll all be? The sooner these sessions will end for good?"

"I have been told that by you forty-nine times."

Katsuko sighed. "Just checking."

"You do realize that the less you bother, the sooner we can just decide to pretend we had these meetings, and you can stop worrying about them?"

That was new. He'd never said that before. Had he ever used a sentence that large before? Katsuko didn't remember.

"Uh… right." Time for a new approach. "What do you think of Maya? Or Anita?"

"Maya is still as foolish as ever, but I suppose she will be necessary to fight the Angels if Eva-00 or Eva-02 are damaged. Anita is… competent. Her dedication is useful. I hope to train and fight with her more often because of it."

High praise. "Do you think Maya could get better?"

"It is possible."

Katsuko bit her lip. "Well, why don't you help her? Fight her-"

Gendo turned pale. He still freaked out every time she mentioned the idea of violence against other people. He'd been like that since Jet Alone. She hoped this was a sign of improvement, but feared it was just another sign that Gendo was incurable or worse.

"As a game or maybe a simulation. Not to actually harm her or anything drastic. She'd know about it too, obviously, and would be expecting any attacks you made."

Gendo sat there, uncertainly. "I…"

"It can't hurt. Besides, it'll help increase our chances of being able to fight the Angels effectively. You'd be doing it to survive, not to be friendly."

"Well…"

"Training exercises, I guess."

"I suppose." Gendo sighed. "This still… she is likely to refuse."

"Well, you can always say you tried!" Katsuko smiled. "Perhaps extend the offer to Anita as well. That might make Maya more hesitant to refuse the offer."

Gendo nodded. That made sense from what he'd seen of the stupid girl. "Thank you, Doctor. You've been useful. For once." He rose and left.

Katsuko stared for a moment, before realizing he'd left without permission. Dammit. "At least I gave him some useful information for a change… Maybe he'll start getting better now."

She sat down at her desk and began to write up the next report. This one would be much brighter than the previous ones had been.

It was nice, how well the session had managed to conduct itself for once.

**3537:21:18**

* * *

><p>It was a late lunch that Katsuko went to, but she'd forgotten to eat earlier. It seemed she wasn't the only one either. Asuka approached Katsuko in the cafeteria, which was perhaps a little surprising. She and Asuka had been good friends in the college days, but they hadn't interacted much since then. She'd been assuming that Asuka just didn't have time for her old friendships. She did seem to be trying to make herself a different person, having dyed her hair brown.<p>

"Hey, how's it going?" Asuka asked.

"Not too bad," Katsuko replied. "And that's despite the fact that I had that psych session with Gendo today. It went rather nicely, all things considered."

"Oh?" Asuka was intrigued.

"Yes. I got him to be willing to socialize with people," Katsuko said. "I can barely believe it, but he's going to propose sparring with Maya and Anita at some point. He'll be doing it to get Maya to fight better."

Asuka seemed unbelieving. "Gendo said that? But he avoids talking to Anita at home..." She put her hands on her hips, sounding angry even though she was still smiling. "Were you drunk on the job, lieutenant?"

"No!" Katsuko hated alcohol. "I'm not kidding. One little session and I didn't just crack his shell; I actually tore bits of it off! I've been more successful today than I was in over a year! Isn't that great?"

"I…" Asuka blinked. "Well… I guess we've all been talking to him lately," she said. "Me and Anita live with him and must have changed something. Anita has brothers, it was probably mostly her."

Katsuko had to finish chewing before she could respond. "In only six days?" she asked.

"Well, that's hundreds of hours."

Katsuko seemed disbelieving of Asuka's math. "If you say so, Asuka." She reached the front of the line, grabbed some food, and waited for Asuka to get her own. Then she went to sit down at one of the many uniform gray tables.

"So, did anything else happen today?" Asuka asked. "Do you work with Maya?"

"No," Katsuko said. "Shinji requested I work with Gendo and only Gendo unless the kids become far too unstable. The thing is, Gendo is plenty unstable already."

Asuka pursed her lips. "Are you sure? He seems really normal to me… I mean, very introverted, yes, but that's not at all the same thing."

"Oh no," Katsuko said, nearly staring in shock. "This kid is heavily messed up on a lot of fronts. He doesn't remember his parents and is definitely using Rei as a surrogate mother of some sort. He stalked her, a couple of days ago. That's not normal behavior on any front. I'm just not sure if I should prescribe pills or if he just needs a lot of therapy."

"Perhaps both," Asuka joked. "That's disturbing… Poor Rei… I'll be sure and keep them separate if I need to have Rei over at my apartment." She smiled a little. "It's a bit like being friends with her again, though it's hard. She's pretty distant."

"Definitely a good idea," Katsuko agreed. "I don't want them mixing any more than absolutely necessary, and I don't think there is such a condition. The commander has been informed, of course. He completely agrees with me."

"He's not a complete idiot, then," Asuka remarked, digging into her noodles.

"He never was. Remember those classes? They were some of the best that they offered in that college. I'm very glad I took them. I would be completely hopeless in that subject without him."

"Yeah," Asuka said, sticking out her tongue, "but you don't have to worry about that subject since you're a psych."

Katsuko took a drink. "It's nice to be well-rounded, okay? And um, speaking about being a psych..." She gulped. "You that if you need to talk to someone about all that stuff..." She trailed off. There was a pause, and then she asked, "What was Germany like? We haven't talked in so long; I want to know all about it."

"A lot of it is just farmland," Asuka said. "Hamburg is one of the last big cities left. It's nothing special there, you know. Just a city. Buses, subways, planes going overhead… There's museums and stuff, but that's for rich foreigners, not for residents, and I never had time or money…"

Katsuko smiled. "I understand. There's a big museum here about submarines, you know? Never been there."

"Maybe we should go some time," Asuka offered after a few bites of food. "You, me, Rei if she likes… Hikari…" Her face fell.

"It might distract her for a bit," Katsuko offered. "Or let her see some old friends who knew her sister, if she wants that."

Asuka shrugged. "We'll see. I'll need money, and with two kids to feed all of a sudden that isn't going to be easy to come by. Even Nerv-03 didn't take things out of my salary, you know."

They ate in silence after that, finishing their meals quickly and disposing of all the trash. Asuka looked at Katsuko uncertainly. "You don't mind that I left like that, do you?"

"Huh?" She looked confused.

"How I just ran away from Japan to go to Germany."

"Oh!" Katsuko immediately began smiling, trying to hide how nervous she felt. "It was sudden, but… I don't really blame you. It was so long ago."

"Yes, but that doesn't excuse anything. I didn't even stop to say goodbye, I just got on a train to get to a city with an airport."

Katsuko stood up. "Yeah, well… It's not like anyone around here is perfect. Just forget it and try not to worry too much. Just focus on the pilots and the Angels. That's my advice. Too many skeletons if you look anywhere else." She smiled. "And we can talk about anything, you know, if you want to. Even if it's just dumb stuff like some worker who is making your life hellish."

Asuka laughed. "Well, Toji keeps questioning my orders about things, but it's not that bad. I think I'll let him live."

"All right then." Katsuko started walking away, waving. Asuka waved back. "See you!"

**3536:55:14**

* * *

><p>Of course, Asuka wasn't the only person Katsuko might have run into, and shortly after leaving the cafeteria she ran into a couple more people. One she knew well enough, Kaito. The other, Raidon, she wasn't sure about. He was just a worker, as far as she knew, not one of Shinji's special students. "Uh, hey Kaito," she said.<p>

Both men turned. "Hey Katsuko!" Kaito said. "You know Watanabe, right?"

She shook her head. "I don't think we've ever formally met." She bowed politely. "I'm Kotonoha Katsuko. What are you guys up to?"

Raidon grinned. "Just hanging out because neither of us have a whole lot to do around here right now. My designs are submitted and Section Two is pretty quiet today, apparently."

"They are just watching the Children," Kaito explained. "Nothing hard about that." He didn't look quite right when he said that though, and Katsuko wasn't entirely sure what to think.

"Well, I'm not really interrogating or anything," Katsuko said. "Just trying to have a conversation is all."

Kaito shrugged. "You asked. And we wouldn't have to answer anyway, so..."

Both Katsuko and Raidon glared at that, Raidon elbowing Kaito slightly. "Don't act so suspicious," he said lightly, still smiling. "Like I said, we're both hanging out until we get more orders, so we're not doing anything wrong. Jeez." He turned to Katsuko. "He's a bit grumpy today," he offered.

"I'll let him be grumpy then," Katsuko said, turning around and leaving.

**3536:49:50**


	30. In which Hikari returns to work

**In which Hikari returns to work**

_"Science is always wrong. It never solves a problem without creating ten more." - George Bernard Shaw_

Hikari walked into Nerv hesitantly. Part of her just wanted to run away, to enjoy her indefinite leave of absence and never come back. She couldn't do that, though. She knew she didn't have that sort of choice at all. Not if she wanted to help anyone.

Gaining courage with each step, she made the long trek to Doctor Ayanami's office. Clutched in her arms were all the proposals she'd made. Hikari didn't have the least idea as to what Rei would say, but she had to do something. Make the suggestion known, at the very least. If she didn't, the kids would have to keep suffering.

Rei was expecting her and had her enter immediately. "Are you ready to return to work?" she asked. "It's not been very long."

Hikari nodded. "I'm ready. I've been working on something while I was away." She placed the various proposals on the desk. "I've come up with a way to reduce our dependency on living pilots without affecting the abilities of the Evangelion."

Rei's eyebrow rose. "Really?" she asked. "I would have thought that you of all people would know by now that we need a living pilot for the artificial intelligence of the Evangelion to work with."

"No," Hikari contradicted, "we don't. We only need the AI to think it's working with a pilot. The fact is, all we really need is a dummy for it to interact with. A convincing simulacrum."

Rei didn't say anything in response to this, which made Hikari falter for a second. When she'd rehearsed this in her mind, Rei would have said something here, some other objection, something!

"Uh… So, the point is, we need to design a second AI, one that's similar enough to a pilot that the Evangelion unit accepts it. From there, the Dummy Plug, as I've taken to calling it, will handle the rest of the fight in the same manner of the pilot without any risk to a human being."

"Huh." Rei didn't look especially impressed by this, but she pulled the papers closer to her and began to read them. "This is interesting, I'll give you that. Hmm." She shuffled through the papers, examining each diagram slowly.

Hikari wanted to say something, but knew better. When Rei was reading, she didn't want to be disturbed. Sometimes she'd snap at people for walking too loudly. Instead, Hikari sat calmly and as still as possible, waiting patiently for Rei's decision.

"I suppose," Rei said after awhile, "that there are definite possibilities for this technology to help Nerv. Therefore, we will begin testing with it immediately. Do you have an estimate on how long it should take to construct?"

"Well, we'll need a lot of data," Hikari explained. "I'd like to perform a simple switch test between Gendo and Maya once Eva-01 is fully repaired, first. That'll prove if the concept of the Dummy Plug is sound. After that… to be honest, ma'am, this'll take a few months to prepare. Mid-October is the earliest I can offer, and I bet that that is too confident."

"Yes," Rei said. "That almost certainly is too confident. I can't imagine us getting this done until November at the earliest." She put the papers into one organized pile. "I'll approve of your proposal, and transfer you to head of this project." She smiles. "We'll obviously need you in the Command Center in case of an Angel attack, of course, but otherwise this is your only task. If you need anything, let me know."

"Of course, ma'am," Hikari said brightly. For the first time since her sister died, she actually sounded happy about something. That immediately made her feel guilty, but she tried to push the feeling down. She'd work on helping the kids; that was her new priority. She was doing it for Nozomi, after all, not for herself.

"Is that all, Horaki-san?"

"Yeah, I think- Er. I am allowed to come back to duty, right?" Hikari asked uncertainly.

"Of course," Rei said. "If you're sure you'll be capable. I don't want to have to take you off the duty roster again for personal reasons if something related to this incident depresses you." She looked down at the papers again, fiddling with them.

"No, of course not. Besides, being with Toji a little right now should help..."

Rei chose not to comment. Hikari's relationships were entirely her own business. "You should also be aware that we acquired the rights to the Jet Alone company, by the way," Rei said, looking up from the stack of papers. Something about the way she said it seemed cold, as if she was trying to provoke Hikari, not help her.

"You what?" Hikari asked.

"After it was blown up, HCI was in tatters, of course. So we paid them to refit Jet Alone for us and give it to us. I just thought you should know before the next Angel battle. If you saw that, you might freak out. Although, I'm surprised your sister Kodama didn't mention it."

"She quit HCI. She's working for the JSSDF now, I believe," Hikari explained. "She didn't wanna keep working at HCI because of all the bad memories."

"So she's working on their robot project?" Rei smiled.

"Yes, I believe so. She and I haven't talked in awhile, and from what I understand she's mostly making it run obstacle courses at this point."

"They've found their pilots?"

Hikari shrugged. "I have no idea. They might just be testing the robots at this point with anyone they can stick in. She works with the one they call Raiden."

"I don't suppose-" Rei began, leaning in conspiratorially.

"No. She isn't going to help us on that front, Doctor. Kodama is highly professional." Hikari looked colder than Rei ever had.

"Very well," Rei said. "I was simply going to ask if she could arrange another purchase. Having all three kinds of mecha under one roof might make the Commander very happy."

Hikari sighed. "I highly doubt that the JSSDF will be nearly so cooperative."

"And since their machines are probably not nuclear-based, it's highly unlikely that such an event like Jet Alone's will occur to nearly bankrupt them." Rei sighed and looked around the room for a moment. "Still, it's a shame. Two competing groups will step on each other's toes sooner or later." She stood up. "I have business to attend to, Lieutenant Horaki. Goodbye."

Hikari nodded and left the office, and Rei followed her, heading to the Command Center. There, she found Takeru.

"How was piloting Jet Alone?" she asked jokingly.

He sighed. He was sitting at the console where he'd done the controls, and looking at everything critically. "It's confusing," he admitted. "There's a lot of typing to do. A button for practically every 'muscle.'"

Rei chuckled. "Evangelion Units are a hell of a lot more efficient, don't you think?"

Takeru stared up at her. "Why are we wasting time with Jet Alone, then?"

"Every machine helps," Rei explained. "When Eva-03 arrives, I think I'll have it decommissioned unless the Angel threat significantly increases in the meantime."

"I sure hope not," Toji interjected. Rei turned to him, and shrugged.

"It's possible." She walked away from Takeru's console. "How are things on the research front, Suzuhara? Any new startling discoveries like the one that you presented us with after the Fourth Angel?"

Toji shook his head. "There's an incredible lack of obtainable data," he explained. "The blood types are all mostly the same, with only a few differences between the individual Angels. The camera views have all been useless, and the pictures can't tell us anything we don't already know."

"Hmm… Well, the plasma whips survived a few hours after the fight," Rei pointed out. "Did you guys get anything out of that?"

"The whips weren't actually made of plasma," Toji explained. He walked over to a console and had it generate a computer image. "They're just made out of who the hell knows what…"

"Any analysis? Surely we at least figured out the composite elements?" Rei pressed, starting to become angry.

"Sure. We're guessing right now, based on the way everything behaves, that there's an element between lithium and beryllium."

"Don't be stupid," Rei snapped. "Lithium has three protons, beryllium has four. There's nothing you could put in between the two of them." She looked at the displays. "There must be some sort of error. Or maybe…"

"Nope. It's either that there's some hidden element, or the Angel just ignored the laws of physics and created a form of matter that would behave in exactly the way it needed it to. At any rate, it wasn't plasma, it was some sort of element that isn't on the periodic table as we understand it." Toji shook his head in disgust. "Clearly, we've got issues, but… They're space aliens, right?"

Rei nodded hesitantly.

"Well, they must be all sorts of hyper-advanced. Oh, and whatever the element is, it's the kind of particle-wave matter we've been talking about. You know, behaving like a wave and a particle at the same time, no matter how you measure it?"

"Right." Rei sat down in a chair. "I need to take up smoking or something… This is just all ridiculous. We're fighting things that just mock everything we know about science."

"I don't get it either," Toji muttered. "I don't understand any of this stuff, even how the Evas work."

"Don't worry about that bit." Rei smiled again. "Just worry about the analysis. I'll leave you to it, and I want to be informed if anything changes."

Toji nodded and returned his attention to his personal console. So much information to analyze, so little time. And Toji was beginning to wonder if he was at all fit in this position. All the evidence suggested that he wasn't good enough.

Not good enough at all.

**3536:22:18**


	31. In which Maya discovers Evangelion

**In which Maya discovers Evangelion**

_"But of course, Little Miss Perfect wouldn't want that story out there, would she?" - Rita Skeeter, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by J. K. Rowling_

Ritsuko stood up when her name was called. She had been waiting in a small room for fifteen minutes for her appointment with the editor of Ryoji's favorite tabloid. It wasn't especially big, and unlike most waiting rooms there was nothing designed to make any waiters comfortable. She didn't mind.

'I'll sell the photos and still have plenty of time to meet Maya,' she reminded herself. Ryoji had handled the last meeting, so she wasn't quite sure how this one would turn out.

The editor turned out to be a kind-looking middle-aged man in a cheap suit. His desk had a fancy computer (the keyboard was nothing more than an outline of light in an empty space, the monitor was almost completely two-dimensional and not apparently connected to the actual computer), and a picture of his family, but was otherwise bare.

"You're Kaji's friend, aren't you?" he asked politely. "He promised me more pictures the next time an Angel attacked."

"Yes. I'm Akagi," she explained. "We've got quite a lot of pictures for you this time. The battle was actually in the town."

The man smiled happily. "That's wonderful. And the robots? You got pictures of the robots?"

"Of course. The purple one wasn't launched, but…" Ritsuko reached into her bag and produced a couple of samples. One was of them was the Angel, whose shape made the tabloid editor's face flush before he gained control of himself. The other depicted Eva-02 after it had reached the surface. "These aren't even the most dramatic bits," she added.

"May I?" When Ritsuko nodded, the man reached forward and examined one of the photos. "If you kids are shopping these, I don't think anyone would be able to tell."

"We're not shopping them!" Ritsuko protested. "These are authentic photographs! It was pretty risky to go up to the surface and take them, too!"

"All right, all right," the man chuckled. "I'm sure you kids are telling the truth. I like these photos; I'll give you the same amount for them I gave your friend." He reached into a drawer and pulled out a large wad of yen notes.

Noticing Ritsuko's look of surprise, he explained casually, "I don't trust checks or cards… Too easy for someone to trace you." He stuffed a sizable sum of the money into Ritsuko's hands. She didn't count it. She didn't know what the price Kaji had got was. She'd have to ask him later.

She handed the rest of the photographs to the editor, bowed, and left quickly. After she was out of the building, she counted the money quickly and split in into two halves, one for her, one for Ryoji. It was a shame he wasn't coming to the mall with them; Maya had asked but he'd been too busy. Finished sorting, she called Maya.

"Hey. I finished up; shall we meet at the mall to see about buying Daisuke a gift?"

"Yeah," Maya agreed. "We really should have done this a bit sooner. I mean, it's not like the Angel did any damage yesterday."

Ritsuko realized Maya had a point, but she hadn't really felt up to anything that day. Even though two Angels hadn't yet attacked on the same day, it wasn't like that couldn't happen. "Do you have any idea what Daisuke likes?" Ritsuko asked. "Because I didn't really know him until you moved here."

"Uh…" There was silence for a minute. "Well, no. But don't worry! I'll find something!"

"An engagement ring?" Ritsuko teased.

Maya sputtered for a few moments before answering. "No! Anyway, I'll head over to the mall. Bye." Maya hung up.

A short subway ride later, Ritsuko found Maya standing in front of the main entrance to the only active shopping mall in town. The rest had closed because of, in no particular order; recession, fires, angel attacks, and a malfunction in the defense system. This mall was clearly on its last legs, many potential shops were empty.

"Maybe he'll like a video game?" Maya suggested, pointing at a video game retail store on the map.

"That shop's not here anymore," Ritsuko said. "They just haven't updated the map yet."

"Figures. How many shops are left? Fifty?" Maya kneeled down and looked at the list. "Hmm… a bookstore. We could buy him a book?"

"Might as well."

After browsing the store for awhile, Maya grabbed a fancy-looking fantasy book that seemed to have an interesting plotline about a magical item. Hopefully that would be something he liked. She wasn't sure, but based on the size of the author's name on the cover, it was clearly written by someone who'd sold a lot of books. Then, she and Ritsuko found themselves looking at comics together.

"Do you like this series?" Ritsuko asked, holding up Revolutionary Girl. "It's a bit old, but… It's probably the only 'girls'' series I like."

"I haven't really had much chance to read comics. My grandparents thought that there were a little too immature." Maya couldn't believe how large this section of the store was. All sorts of graphic novels were displayed before her, aimed at just about every age group. Like Ritsuko, she didn't feel very interested in the things aged at teenage girls, because anything named "Heart Princess Masks" couldn't be the least bit interesting for anyone with a brain.

On the other hand, the most popular thing aimed at boys was mecha, and Maya had enough of that in her life.

Ritsuko noticed her staring at the books and sighed. "Giant robots were pretty popular before the Evangelion project went public. Nowadays it's all that's aimed at boys. Look at this one." She reached to the top shelf and pulled down an issue depicting a rather masculine teenage boy, a girl in a uniform that made Maya's plugsuit look conservative, and a giant robot that was painted blood red. It actually had "Evangelion" in the title. Specifically, it was "Evangelion Battles - Fierce Blood Unit 01".

Maya couldn't help but laugh.

"How many volumes are there for this thing?"

"Seven. They come out once a year," Ritsuko explained.

"We're buying all of them," Maya said firmly, reaching up and pulling down one of each volume. "This should be fun to mock, at least."

Ritsuko and Maya waited a little while longer, standing next to each other and looking at the comics. "There's not a lot that's all that good, is there?" Ritsuko asked.

"No," Maya admitted. "I don't think there is. Oh well. It's fun hanging out, at least."

Both girls stood there awkwardly. Maya was sure that there was something the two of them could talk about, but she couldn't place it. Finally, there was no way they could pretend to be looking at books any longer.

"I guess we should go," Maya said.

"Yeah…" Ritsuko muttered. "I guess we should just go."

"Yeah."

Another awkward pause, despite their decision. Maya wondered briefly if she should ask to come over and play video games, but.

No. She didn't like video games and it would just lead to more awkward silences anyway.

They bought their things and separated, Ritsuko taking Daisuke's gift because she had wrapping paper at home. "See you in school tomorrow!" each said as they left.

**3535:48:42**

* * *

><p>Ryoji was very grateful when the phone rang, because he managed to escape homework for a few minutes. He shoved it onto the tabloids on his desk and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket carelessly. He looked at the number. It was clearly not Maya's, so he didn't read it all the way through.<p>

"Hello?" he said, answering.

It was Ritsuko. "I sold the photos. We got quite a bit of money from it too."

"Awesome! I almost can't wait for the next Angel to attack! We could get so rich if there are enough of them!"

Ritsuko laughed. "Yeah… I'm gonna save up for a better camera. Maybe we'll get more money for better photographs."

"How about a video camera? I think my dad's got one."

"Excellent," she responded. "We can use it to film our band too, if that ever gets off the ground."

Ryoji looked at his desk, still covered in homework. "Hey Rits-chan? Do you understand any of the homework we got tonight?"

"I haven't even looked at it. I think I'll do it in the morning," she said. "That'll be more exciting. Unless you want me to help you?"

"Do you actually get 5's when you put it off?" Ryoji asked.

There was quite a bit of hesitation before she answered. "Well, no…" she admitted. "Generally 3's or 4's lately. But I don't do it that often any more, either. We get too much homework to do it in an hour."

Ryoji laughed. "Stupid school. Two years ago they were all over us about studying hard to get into a good middle school, and now they're already ranting about the tests we'll be taking next year. It's ridiculous!"

"Will we even be alive next year?" Ritsuko muttered.

Kaji sighed. "Of course we will. They've killed plenty of Angels, and there hasn't been a single fatality since Second Impact. The Angels seem kind of weak, lately."

"Yeah…" she said. "I wonder why they haven't just been bombarding us with asteroids for the past fifteen years. That would kill us all in pretty short order."

"There's lots of weirdness there," Kaji said.

**3535:17:02**

* * *

><p>When Maya arrived at her apartment, a Section 2 agent was waiting for her.<p>

"Uh, hi," she said uncomfortably.

"This is for your eyes only," the agent said, holding out a palm pilot. "In about an hour, the data on here will be completely deleted."

"Uh…"

"It's background information related to the Angel War. The commander recently decided to declassify it for pilots."

"What?" Maya took the palm pilot uncertainly. "Why?"

"He didn't say. It's not your business, or mine."

Maya stepped past the agent and entered her apartment, holding the machine gingerly, as if it might explode at any time. It was already turned on, but the screen was blank. An assortment of buttons sat at the bottom. Maya pressed them randomly.

Eventually, an image of Nerv's logo popped up: a fig leaf, surrounded by English letters. Anita had told her that it said "GOD'S IN HIS HEAVEN, ALL'S RIGHT WITH THE WORLD", though she couldn't understand all the words herself. Fitting. It scrolled away, replaced with a selection of text.

"In February 2000, radar investigations near the Showa Antarctic Research Station revealed a perfectly symmetrical anomaly under East Ongul Island. Over the next several months, Dr. Zeppelin and her associates assembled and created a temporary research facility. In July, excavations began in proper and revealed an alien entity tentatively designated 'Adam'.

'Investigations into its origins, specifically its biology and the materials found with it, began immediately. However, an attempt to recover a sample from the entity resulted in an explosion with the following consequences:

'1. Second Impact, including the death of all but one individual present at the research site.

'2. The release of gamma rays at an unprecedented rate, even in comparison to known hypernovae.

'3. A faster-than-light signal directed at Polaris Australis. Because it is an F-type star and its location merely requires Angels to have an FTL drive slightly faster than 18c (as opposed to more excessive c-speed violations), government officials currently hypothesize that the Angels originate there."

Maya stared at the data blankly. While it was interesting to know that there was a cover-up, it didn't affect her job at all. Well, the parts she understood didn't.

Why had the Commander decided to tell anyone?

Why wasn't the world allowed to know?

**3535:00:00**


	32. In which trust and suspicion develop

**In which trust and suspicion develop**

_"There are secrets in this world too terrible for young people to know, even as those secrets get closer and closer." - Captain Widdershins, The Grim Grotto, by Lemony Snicket_

Asuka walked into Kaworu's office after lunch, relatively happy. "Hello Vice-Commander," she said. "You wanted to talk?"

"Research and development proposed a new armor model and Entry Plug modification that they believe can be completed in a couple of days. They're calling it G-Type armor."

"What does it do?"

"It's a long-range sniper modification. It also lets the Evangelion units extend their vision into the infrared, to help the pilots shoot at night."

"Sounds like a pretty impressive armor-type," Asuka said. "And it can be completed in a couple of days? I'll approve it, that's no big deal."

Kaworu handed a piece of paper to Asuka. She looked over it quickly, and then signed it. Everything seemed to be in order, although it was surprising that the G-Type armor could be constructed so quickly. Still, perhaps this was just a sign that this was going to be a great day.

"Thank you, Captain," Kaworu said. "Now, if you don't mind my asking, what do you know about Yamada Kaito?"

Asuka smiled. "He and I are college friends, like... everyone else. I don't really know what anyone was up to though before I got here. He's pretty nice, uh, he went out with Kimie a few times and I think he liked me at one point or another, but... That's pretty much it. He's head of Section Two now though, so he's obviously a good worker."

Kaworu nodded and opened his mouth to say something, but his computer beeped suddenly. "Excuse me," he said, looking down at it. Then he frowned. "What the hell, Commander?" he muttered under his breath. "Look at this."

He swung the computer screen around for her to see. She leaned in and began to read aloud, mostly because as she read it she became more and more outraged.

"I have decided to release information regarding Second Impact to all pilots and high-level personnel. Effective immediately, they will know the same information that was pretend on the official, and nearly completely classified, reports."

She stared at the screen. "Wh... what?"

"Why would he do that?" Kaworu asked her. "You know him a lot better than I do, I feel. Can you explain this at all?"

"No! Why would he even tell them? It doesn't matter how Second Impact happened! The pilots just need to be able to fight."

"Hang on a second…" Kaworu looked at the screen again, and then read out the information aloud. It was identical to the information Maya received. "Hmm. It was courteous of him not to mention that you're the survivor."

"Oh, yes, that's totally great. That's not what's important here! That information was strongly classified for a reason!"

Kaworu nodded. "I think I will go and have a talk with the commander. Someone needs to rein him in, at the very least."

"Should I come too?" Asuka asked, still looking furious. "I can 'rein' him in."

Kaworu smiled. "That won't be necessary," he said politely. "If too many people confront him, he might feel cornered and then we'll never get through to him."

"Fine," Asuka muttered. "But I get to yell at him next time," she said.

"Of course," Kaworu agreed. "I wouldn't dream of depriving you of the opportunity to yell at Commander Ikari." He stepped to the door of his office. "Goodbye, Captain. See you around? Perhaps another dinner meeting when there are more designs to approve?"

Asuka hesitated for a moment. "Well… okay," she said. "I suppose."

Kaworu nodded. "See you around," he said. He began the long walk to Shinji's office. Unlike most people, he didn't bother knocking. Shinji would either be there, or he wouldn't. There was no reason to wait.

This time, he was there, working on the steadily growing mountain of paperwork on his desk. He looked up, annoyed. "What is it, Kaworu?"

"I came to inform you of the complaints that both myself and Captain Soryu have in the declassification of the Second Impact incidents."

"That's nice."

"Commander, don't blow us off. We work here for a reason, and I do believe that you selected her because you felt you could trust her."

Shinji looked back at his papers.

Kaworu glared. "Is this something you're doing because you want people to know the truth, or something you're doing because you want revenge for something?"

No answer.

Kaworu turned away. "Your declassifying things won't get you any access to the Dead Sea Scrolls, you know. There's a reason that those are classified, just as there's a reason that we didn't tell the pilots that Adam was under Antarctica."

"Why didn't we tell them, anyways? Why not tell the world?" Shinji didn't look especially convinced by Kaworu's claim.

"Because "a signal" isn't anywhere near as threatening as the promise of immediate attack. We all knew that the Angels would come back, because even the signal is made-up. If they thought the signal might just have been a 'Whoops, accident at Science Station 3, send someone to see what happened,' we would never have gotten approval to build the Evangelions. They're too expensive to build up when the people of the world wouldn't even know that they'd be needed."

"So we made up the idea of an asteroid attack."

"Of course. It covers all of what happened in a way that makes sense, and creates a huge threat for mankind to have to scramble to deal with."

"But why not just tell them the truth?" Shinji asked. "That the giant scattered however many eggs across the world and that they're hatching, one by one."

"That wouldn't work either," Kaworu countered. "Makes the Angels look like babies, not hideous beings from… from who knows where. Who is afraid of a baby? We'd get environmental groups or something protesting the fact that we have to kill them."

Shinji smirked. He knew Kaworu well enough to tell when he was exaggerating, and the man always could make him laugh, somehow. Even though he hated him.

"So is that what this was all about? Just a way to get the truth out to find out why we hid it?"

"No. It's to show the pilots we trust them," Shinji said.

"But you don't. They don't know that it woke up when we pulled the lance out; they don't know that the whole experiment was to pull out the S2 Engine. You didn't tell them any of that."

"It's a start, though."

"They'll be less likely to believe you now that they know the truth has been hidden once," Kaworu countered. "And that's only one secret? What about the fact that there's a reason none of their classmates have mo-"

"It's possible that it won't work," Shinji admitted, "but I think Maya will trust us all the more."

"You did it just for her?"

"She deserves honesty," Shinji explained.

"Gendo and Anita don't?" Kaworu seemed genuinely surprised here.

Shinji shook his head. "They do, but… They seem less likely to be betrayed by all of this than Maya would be if she ever found out everything."

"It's a shame we haven't been training her from a young age like we did Gendo or Anita, then," Kaworu pointed out.

"Mari didn't want her involved until she was older. She thought that Maya wouldn't adapt very well from a young age."

"I'm sure a mother knows best," Kaworu said.

Shinji gave Kaworu a curt nod. "Yes. Earlier, you mentioned the DS-"

"No, Commander. There is nothing you can do or say that will make me rethink Seele's position. We keep it as classified as possible lest people start worrying again. There's all sorts of risks. Someone stole some of Seele's most valuable items, so we can't trust civilians or the governments. Even you are too much of a risk. Nerv only needs one person around in case of an XK-class scenario."

"Why aren't you in charge then?" Shinji asked.

"Because I can't do the rest. Because you're the best man for every other part of the job. I'm around so that Seele doesn't have to tell another person. You're around to stop me from ever being needed. The Angels must never initiate an XK-class scenario."

"But Seele is allowed to?"

"Nonsense. That's not our goal at all."

"What's the difference, then?" Shinji asked.

This time, Kaworu didn't respond.

Shinji sighed. "Very well. I'll just keep preparing for the Seventh Angel, no matter what happens. Even if we are doing this completely blind because the only hint we have is about that Positron Rifle."

"Have you obtained it yet?"

"I can't unless there's an actual emergency, I'm afraid. The JSSDF will get suspicious if I say 'We need your most powerful weapon just because we suspect we'll need it,' and they'll get even more suspicious if I say we know we need it."

Kaworu sighed. "True," he admitted. "That is a bit of the problem with prophecies…" He smiled then. "Well, I'm sure we'll have time to get it when the Seventh Angel arrives next week."

"It arrives next week?"

Kaworu flushed. "I…" He gulped. "I didn't mean to say that," he said, and hurried away.

Shinji grinned to himself. Kaworu was proving to be an easy egg to crack.

**3534:22:47**

* * *

><p>It was Keita who approached Kensuke about the fact that the pilots had gained access to classified information. "You won't believe what they're telling the kids now," he remarked.<p>

Kensuke glared up from his desk. "Does it matter?" he asked.

"It has to do with Second Imapct," Keita continued, "So I'd say, yeah; yeah it does." He related the story of the entity named "Adam" to Kensuke, who stared disbelievingly. "I know. Even we didn't get that information!"

"So how did you find out?" Kensuke asked, all the more convinced Keita was just making things up to mess with him for some stupid reason. "I'm guessing it wasn't while making sure that Eva-01 is still being fixed?"

Keita shrugged the second question off. "I just bumped into Idane while she was heading up to the surface. Saw the pad. Crazy stuff." He looked at Kensuke, concerned. "There's actually a lot of crazy stuff here in Nerv, don't you think? Antarctic expeditions, crazy robot skeletons..." He frowned. "I know that since we're a pseudo-military organization, secrets are to be expected, but don't you think this is a little much?"

Kensuke began typing away at his computer. "Those aren't real skeletons in the basement," he pointed out. "Evas aren't made out of bone. We just copied human design because it works so well. That's kind of obvious. And as for that crazy alien in the Antarctic story... if that's really how we met the Angels, that just tells us some backstory. It doesn't affect the fact that we're in battle for our lives."

"I guess not," Keita agreed. "It's just, it makes me wonder if there's more secrets. More things to find out. And I think I'm gonna start looking for them."

Kensuke raised an eyebrow. "That sounds like a good way to get fired," he remarked.

"I'm not gonna break any rules!" Keita explained. "Just... look around. There's plenty of rooms on the map that don't have an official purpose, and I'm gonna go look around at the ones that you don't need special access to get into. I might find something cool." He leaned in a bit. "Wanna come along?"

"No," Kensuke said. "I have a job to do. Can I get back to that?"

**3533:52:54**


	33. In which Maya is stabbed

**In which Maya is stabbed**

_"That's inhuman... You're inhuman, Neku. No better than those Reapers!" Shiki Misaki, It's a Wonderful World, directed by Tatsuya Kando_

Maya realized about five minutes before lunch that she shouldn't have brought the Evangelion manga to school with her. Volume One was only infinitely more entertaining than anything that the teacher could talk about, and her desk was perfectly positioned for her to keep the book out of sight.

From what she'd gathered, the Evangelion Battles series was supposed to be ending that October with the eighth volume's release. Each volume had fourteen chapters, and Maya had spent the entire day going through the first half of the first volume.

On the whole, she'd have much preferred to pilot Fierce Blood Unit 01. The world presented in the manga was completed unrealistic, to the point of having an absolute airhead in charge of the entire facilities. The main character had defeated two Angels (completely unrelated to the real deal) through sheer force of will alone, and all of the side characters were kind and happy. Almost a completely perfect world, Maya thought.

Ritsuko tapped her shoulder. "Are you just gonna keep reading those books, or do you actually want to hang out with us?" she asked.

"Uh… sorry…" Maya blushed. "They're surprisingly… good."

"Kusaka-san might not be capable of anything but clichés, but he can write those clichés pretty well," Ritsuko explained. "Now come on! You can't just sit around every day reading books!"

Maya nodded, got her lunch, and joined the circle of desks. "Hey guys," she said. "Sorry, I got a little distracted."

"Which ones were you reading?" Makoto asked. "That new series with about the kid who finds a spaceship? The magic user?"

"Probably a girl's series," Ryoji pointed out. "Maya isn't the type for violence."

"Actually… it's about giant robots. One of the comics based off of the real Evangelion series," Maya explained. "I… I was just going to buy it to make fun of it, but… it's not bad."

"Can I see?" Anita asked. "I never really had the chance to read for fun…"

Maya went back to her desk, obtained the first volume, and handed it to Anita, who stared at it for a moment in confusion, and then opened up to the back page, flipping backwards through the book before remembering the Japanese style of writing. She flipped to the right side of the book and began to read slowly.

"This is strange," she remarked.

She didn't stop reading though, and was soon completed absorbed into the novel.

Ritsuko grinned a little. "I didn't expect that I'd make addicts out of all of you pilots," she joked. "Although… I guess I haven't managed to get Gendo yet…" She looked over at him. "Hey Rokubungi!" she called. "You should come over here!"

The boy, much to everyone's shock, rose slowly and joined them. "Yes?" he asked.

"I…" Ritsuko practically stuttered, for Gendo typically ignored everyone. "I wanted you to take a look at this book." She pointed to the manga that Anita was reading.

Gendo quickly looked over Anita's shoulder, and stared for a few moments. "I see. What is the point of this?" he asked.

"You don't like it?" Ryoji asked. "Anita and Maya do."

"It's just a book," Gendo remarked. "With pictures. That's all. What's so interesting about it?"

"It's about Evangelion," Ritsuko explained.

Gendo looked down again, staring intently at the picture of Fierce Blood Unit 01 being unveiled to Shichiro. "No," he remarked. "That doesn't look a thing like Evangelion."

"It's a fictional account about Eva," Maya explained. "It's just a fantasy. Nothing real or anything like that. That's why none of the Eva Units look like the real deal."

Gendo shrugged. "There's no point to it, then." He stood there silently for a moment, and then turned to Maya. "We need to train more often together," he said. "Perhaps this afternoon we could spar in a simulation body?"

"Well… uh…" Maya considered. She'd had plans to catch up on some homework, but… Homework wasn't important, according to Doctor Ayanami. Why should she really bother with it if she didn't have to? Besides, there was always Sunday evening. "I guess so," she said. "After school?"

"Yes." He started to walk away, but Anita looked up at him.

"Please," she said. "Stay and eat lunch with us."

Gendo stood there, considering. Finally, he said, "Very well," and went to his desk to get his own lunch. Everyone stared at Anita.

"How'd you do that?" Ritsuko demanded.

"Do what?" Anita asked, not looking up from the book.

"You got him to sit with us…" Kyoko whispered. "He never sits with anyone."

"I just asked," Anita replied, shrugging her shoulders. She turned a page. "That's no big deal, is it? Did anyone ever try?"

"I-" Shigeru began, but cut off when Gendo joined them. He sat down at an empty space, put his lunch down in front of him, and began to eat. At no point did he make eye contact, or any noise besides the chewing of his food. No one was even quite sure if he was truly aware of them, or if he'd blocked everyone out as soon as he'd begun eating.

"So, uh…" Kyoko chuckled a little as she faltered for a conversational topic. "I… I heard the funniest joke yesterday evening." She related the joke, which she'd seen on TV, based on an untranslatable pun about the kanji of "mackerel" and "blue." Everyone laughed except Anita, who didn't quite follow, and Gendo, who continued ignoring them.

The conversation meandered after that, covering the band (still looking for a drummer), a scandal involving a celebrity and the husband of a famous politician, and the ever-present topic: the Angel War. Questions of when the next Angel would attack, and what forms it would take, and how much damage it would do were frequent.

Maya hated every minute of it. Gendo ignored it, like he'd ignored everything else. Anita didn't seem to mind, but she never contributed.

Lunch ended, class began, and Maya got Evangelion Battles back. Naturally, of course, she spent the rest of the day finishing it off. Much more fun than classes.

**3513:30:00**

* * *

><p>Sparring in Evangelion. No big deal.<p>

Okay, so Maya had never done it before, really. And Gendo was much more experienced than she was. Oh, and she sometimes panicked in battle simulations, forgetting controls or other minor details.

But none of that was important.

None of this was real. She wouldn't get hurt or anything horrific like that.

A holographic image of Eva-00 appeared in the blank space of the Pribnow Box. It was a representation of Gendo, who was with a different simulation Eva somewhere else. Considering the size of the Geofront, Gendo could actually be kilometers away. It was a strange thought, that things could be projected over such huge distances.

"Are you ready, Maya?" Kensuke asked.

"Yes, sir."

"In that case, you may begin."

Maya nodded and pulled out a prog knife. Eva-00, despite not actually having shoulder pylons in the real world, produced one as well. That seemed fair.

Well, actually it wasn't since he outclassed her in every other respect. But that wasn't the point.

Maya was going to do this. She had a fair chance, no matter what common se-self-doubt told her. No matter what.

She charged with her knife outstretched. He dived out of the way, not even bothering to parry. This necessitated her having to swing around to watch him, lest he dive in from the side. He didn't. He seemed to be waiting for her to make another move.

That was kind of like the Angels she'd seen. They didn't exactly strike first and none of them had gone all out against her or any of the others. They just retaliated to direct threats.

She wondered briefly why.

Then she realized she needed to dive in again. So she did, hoping to fake Gendo out by initially striking one way but quickly veering off into a different direction.

Gendo wasn't fooled, and deflected the knife handily. Then he grabbed her wrist and began to twist it. Maya flinched, but reached out to grab his knife arm and twist it. They stood like that for a few minutes, each twisting the other.

Finally Maya pulled free, and both backed away from each other.

Then, Gendo dived in with his knife. She deflected the first attack, but he was ready and spun about, coming in from a different direction. They danced across the simulation room, him attacking incessantly, each time her blocks becoming a little slower and a little more off. This couldn't last forever; he seemed to have more stamina.

Maya decided to let her guard down, to let him get one shot in and then to retaliate quickly while he didn't expect it. Victory was worth a cut on the arm.

He got his stab in.

Into her stomach.

It hurt. A lot. She screamed.

**3512:30:00**


	34. In which riots break out

**In which riots break out**

_"The primary aim of modern warfare... is to use up the products of the machine without raising the general standard of living." - Emmanuel Goldstein (nomme de plume of O'Brien and others), 1984, by George Orwell_

Dinner was cooking. Asuka had left work early that day to try and prepare an actual meal. So far, so good. Nothing was burning, everything smelt nice, for the first time in a long time, she actually felt confident about serving people something. Anita and Gendo would love it; she wouldn't have to go through the same old routine of making it worth their while to eat.

The TV blared in the background. On it, a man sat in a news station, reporting the events of the day.

"The Prime Minister responded to allegations of scandal this afternoon, claiming that the situation was misunderstood and that he will give a full explanation tomorrow evening. Those in the opposing party made a more complete statement this afternoon, criticizing the Prime Minister's failure to respond promptly. At least one individual has accused him of stalling to come up with a valid excuse, and several are demanding a full investigation.

'The claims, and the increasing likelihood that the JSSDF is being used for extra-legal purposes, have led to increased instability here in Japan. Several protest groups organized across the nations, and at least two such protests resulted in police action. On the scene, Inoue-san."

The camera switched to a young woman standing a ways away from a mass of people fighting a much smaller mass of police officers.

"I'm here in front of Heiwa Street in the Core City of Asahikawa, where an hour ago riots broke out. The group that started it remains uncertain, but those interviewed agree that the crowds were peaceful until the police arrived. Despite the fast work on the part of the police, the crowd remains large in number."

The girl turned to her left, and the camera panned to reveal a man standing next to her. "Can you relate what happened?"

"We were gathering to protest JSSDF actions, and the crowd got… well, I think it got bigger than intended." The man seemed nervous, afraid of being on TV, of being a known participant in the affair. "The police showed up and asked everyone to disperse because we were blocking the roads, and some of us started leaving, but a few others shouted "No!" and… I dunno, I looked back after I was out of the crowd and people were fighting."

"I see. And the fights have been going on for all this time?"

"I think so. Even as I was leaving other people were joining the crowd. I didn't want trouble; I just wanted to speak out."

The girl nodded. "Regardless of who started what, it's becoming apparent that the tensions involving the JSSDF and some government workers is continuing to grow, and that something will need to be done soon. I'm Inoue-san, and we will continue reporting should new developments occur."

The camera switched back to the original announcer.

"The two riots here in Japan, however, are not the only riots. The United States remains a hotspot, and at least five anti-Nerv demonstrations have descended into violence this past week. The complaint is a fair one: With so much of the US government's resources going into Nerv, there is precious little left to help the starving. As America continues to become an immense desert, the problems will only get worse.

'One of America's two Nerv branches; Nerv-02, reports that damage was done to parts of the facility, and that their construction work on the prototype Evangelion weapon, Testbed Unit Four, has been slowed because of it. They remain confident, however, that their Evangelion, and the other American unit, Production Model Three, will be completed late November."

The screen switched to a different announcer.

"In other Nerv-related news, a tabloid that claims to publish actual pictures from the Evangelion battles against the angels…"

Asuka stopped cooking. "What?" she whispered. She began focusing entirely on the television set, ignoring the food even as it became more and more apparent it needed her immediate attention.

"…pictures have been produced of a working Jet Alone unit. It was believed that Jet Alone was destroyed late last month, although rumors of Heavy Chemical Industries receiving a large donation and no longer being in danger of bankruptcy were reported here. It seems that this was the cause of HCI's sudden acquisition of money.

'Many are questioning Nerv's choice to deploy Jet Alone against the Angels, especially since the danger involved is enormous. Others, especially politicians, are beginning to question the choice to give Nerv the emergency powers it has, and are calling to rein it in and force Nerv Headquarters and any temporary bases formed in Japan to reveal all activities to the Japanese public.

'No Nerv officials could be reached for comment, and the tabloid remains steadfast in its refusal to reveal how it obtained the pictures. One skeptic has suggested that they have simply doctored an official release photo of Jet Alone and set in Tokyo-3, but the photos seem genuine and lack the telltale signs of a photoshop edit.

'All evidence remains inconclusive, but one begins to wonder why trillions of dollars have been spent on the Evangelion project when a far less expensive robot like Jet Alone has been able to do the job."

Shortly after, the show cut to a commercial break.

Asuka stared at the television screen in shock. How had anyone managed to take pictures during the battle? How had they missed the way that the Evangelion units had done all the actual work? Had the tabloids misrepresented things to discredit Nerv? Who would bother with such a thing?

Then she heard the smoke alarm go off, and realized that dinner was ruined.

Again.

**3510:22:16**

* * *

><p>It was two hours later, two hours that had been spent mock-fighting and synching and things that weren't any danger to Maya, but the knife kept running through her mind. She sat in the locker room, her plugsuit around her ankles. She kept staring at her stomach. Even though she knew better at this point, she couldn't help looking for a wound, something to tell her that the pain she'd felt when the knife had sunk in had been real. If she squinted, she could convince herself that there was a slight redness where the knife had sunk in.<p>

That was easy enough to rationalize away, though. Wound or no, her brain had been fooled and would have done something to address the injury. The redness was just some reaction, some uncontrollable action of the brain to heal a trauma that wasn't there. The only reason it still hurt her was because she still subconsciously believed the pain was there.

There was nothing to worry about.

She stepped out of the plugsuit and went into the showers, washing off the last remnants of the LCL while trying to ignore her awkward form. She finished washing out her hair as quickly as possible and went back to the lockers, pulling out a clean set of clothing and donning it calmly. She considered leaving the purple plugsuit on the floor, just to see if anyone would end up putting it away for her later.

In the end, though, she ended up stuffing the plugsuit in the laundry chute and walking away. Little acts of rebellion danced in her head, like they did every time she got hurt. Paradoxically, at the same time she wanted to go back into Eva-01, to sleep in the Entry Plug as the LCL washed over her.

Was that normal?

Was she normal?

But really, when she considered Anita and Gendo, she wondered if there was any such thing as normal, or if it was just something people made up to reassure themselves.

**3510:04:11**

* * *

><p>Kaito hung up the phone. Another avenue of exploration into the JSSDF had been closed. His contact had refused to talk about anything.<p>

The threat of the JSSDF's robot project loomed over Nerv's independence, especially with the rumors that they were designed to penetrate AT Fields through sheer force of weapons. One prototype that had been recently completed was the "Positron Rifle," though it had never been tested. It would require all of the electrical output of Japan to function.

In short, the JSSDF project seemed to be a complete waste of Japan's resources, and would do nothing to help the current recession. An economy couldn't function if all the power could be cut at the slightest provocation.

He picked up the phone and dialed another number. Another old friend, another old favor that he was owed.

His friend answered. "Hello?"

"Hey, Horaki. It's Yamada."

"Yamada! It's been ages! How's it going?"

"I need to call in an old favor… Can we meet up sometime?" Kaito asked. "I'll buy the drinks."

"Hmm… I can meet with you next Saturday, but I'm pretty busy until then. My new job is pretty demanding… I'll be out of town Wednesday and Thursday."

"I understand," Kaito said. "Saturday at eight? Regular place?"

"Sure."

Kaito hung up. Finally, maybe that would be an inroad to what Shinji wanted him to find about. The man's obsessions seemed to grow every day, and while Kaito hoped for the best, it was entirely possible that it was delusional as well.

Would Shinji be safe? Seele and the JSSDF had both suggested that Shinji might develop into a danger to mankind. Every time Kaito thought about his old teacher, he began to wonder. Something was different about Shinji, and if he was just as much of a danger as the Angels and other organizations, the fate of the world seemed a little less certain.

As Kaito began to prepare for his nephew's party, he became all too aware that the world was slowly falling to bits, that someone somewhere was orchestrating a conspiracy for reasons Kaito couldn't even begin to fathom.

Kaito did know, however, that he was going to save the world if he could. Between Nerv, Seele, the JSSDF, the remnants of data from Gehirn… He'd find something out. The pilots could save the world, and so could he.

**3509:28:16**


	35. In which Anita thinks

**In which Anita thinks**

_HUMANS NEED FANTASY TO BE HUMAN. - Death, Hogfather, by Terry Pratchett_

Maya met Anita and Gendo at Asuka's apartment before they set off for Daisuke's birthday party. Anita was surprised to see that she wasn't holding a gift. She knew Gendo was callous, and was going to say that her gift was from both of them in an attempt to shame him, but somehow she doubted it would be successful.

"Did you forget your gift?" she asked. "We have enough time to go to your apartment…" Admittedly, she shouldn't be judging the lack of gifting since she herself had only found out a few years back because of Asuka's birthday, but she had been rather sheltered until then. Maya and Gendo shouldn't have excuses.

"No," Maya explained, "Ritsuko and I bought a gift together and she took it home to wrap it. Unless she doesn't show up, my gift will be there." She looked over at Gendo's empty hands, concerned, but didn't comment on the lack of a gift.

They walked together for awhile. Maya was on side of her, Gendo stood on the other. Neither of them seemed to be interested in talking, though Maya kept making wayward glances at Gendo. Apparently birthday gifts were more important than even Anita had figured, or something else had happened. Had their training led to a romantic interest on Maya's part? The movies Anita watched with Asuka suggested that such things were very common.

If Anita was right, then perhaps this would make Gendo more well-adjusted like Asuka apparently wanted. Anita didn't see the big deal, she wasn't social either. But, then again, she was at least willing to be in the same room as other people, and if they wanted to talk, she could talk. She'd been doing it quite a bit to try to make Gendo respond, just to make Asuka happy, but it had failed so far. Gendo acted like noise was some abomination.

"What did you get Daisuke?" Anita asked as they boarded the train. "I go- Er, Gendo and I got him some old DVDs. Asuka asked his uncle about what he'd like."

"That was a good idea," Maya agreed, taking a seat. "I should have thought of that. Yamada-san is supposed to be a Nerv employee and it shouldn't be too hard to get a hold of him."

Anita shrugged. "According to Asuka, he's out of town quite a lot, actually. It might be hard to get a hold of him, but… Well, I guess Daisuke-san only has one birthday a year." She grinned.

"Yeah, and we'll know him better next year anyways."

"Hmm…" Anita didn't think she'd still be in Tokyo-3 a whole year from now. It was such a long time, and the Angel War would probably be over by that point. Her employers would almost certainly transfer her to somewhere else when this was done. She hoped she'd get to keep Eva-02, though. It was the best thing she'd ever seen.

"Hmm?" Maya looked over at Anita.

"Oh, I was just thinking… I'll probably be back in Germany with Asuka and the Vice Commander in a year's time."

"Oh, right." Maya sighed. "Sorry, I… It's only been a week, but already I guess I'm used to you being around. And, it's hard to think about the war ending. I mean, we don't have any clue when the Angels will arrive, or how many are coming, or any of that. What if we're on call for the rest of our lives?"

"I doubt that will happen," Gendo said, speaking for the first time. "Doctor Ayanami mentioned that one of the new Evangelion units is receiving upgrades. It's likely that all three of us will eventually be obsolete."

Anita hated to think of such a thing. Eva-02, obsolete? It was a production model. Admittedly only the first one, but it had spent huge periods of time being worked on and clearly there could only be minor alterations to make improvements.

Maya didn't seem affected by the thought at all. Anita almost envied her ability to remain so unaffected by the threat of the loss of their job. She'd been so good fighting the Fifth Angel; it wasn't her fault that it had exploded and that Eva-01 had been so heavily damaged. If the Seventh Angel held off until Monday or later, Maya would probably get to fight against it.

Anita realized that her personal project involving helping Asuka with Gendo wasn't going to be her only project. Maya needed to learn the ropes of piloting effectively, she needed to be able to enjoy it the way Anita and Gendo did. As soon as that happened, she'd no doubt realize how important their job was. She'd learn to love it, and would understand the consequences of the test type, prototype, and initial production model being discontinued.

"I doubt that Eva-02 will ever be made obsolete," Anita said confidently, but it was only to reassure herself.

"Didn't you read the classified information that was given to us? If the Angels are from another star system, then we can't stop them from here."

Anita didn't like that logic one bit. Eva-02 was purely defensive, not offensive. But maybe they could just hold out long enough to convince the Angels that war was unnecessary. Or maybe the Angels were an automated defense system and sooner or later they'd destroy all of them. But if they did, she realized, mankind would have no way of knowing and she'd still be here all her life.

Anita wondered if she wanted that.

It wasn't that Asuka and Maya weren't fun to be with, but Japan was so alien, so much louder than Germany. Well, no, that wasn't true. Japan and Germany were both loud. The problem was that she'd spent so much time locked safely in Nerv-03, where nothing could touch her and the noises of the city were pure background. Here everything was different, yes, but that was because she left HQ. She went to school, she went shopping, she slept inside a building you didn't need a dozen forms of clearance to get into.

It was new. Exciting, even. But enjoyable?

Anita didn't know the answer to that at all.

"Uh… so you're saying we'd need to go into outer space, or something?" Maya chuckled a little.

Gendo didn't say anything in response.

"Well," Maya continued. "That's what light years mean, right?"

"Nerv doesn't have space shuttles or anything like that," Anita pointed out. "Right now, we couldn't even get to the moon if we tried."

She knew this from dozens of Angel simulations before she'd been transferred over. In them, Angels were detected somewhere inside the solar system but not even as close as Cis-Lunar space, the region contained in the moon's orbit. Nearly all the scenarios resulted in complete failure on Anita's part, except ones where the Angels attacked Tokyo-3 directly.

Even in those, however, Anita had relied on simulation versions of other Evangelion units. The message was clear. Space was not where Nerv could possibly fight and win. Any Angel that relied on space-based strategies would be absolutely undefeatable.

Maya was shaking her head in disgust. "We used to be capable of all sorts of things before Second Impact… America sent people to the moon, Russia launched space probes… It's hard to believe we can't do such things anymore."

"I'm sure that once civilization recovers, we'll go back to doing the things we were going to do," Anita said. "There's still so much in the universe to explore, there are so many planets out there…" She smiled. "You know, I always liked reading about what the future might have been like. There's a lot of books out there that try to predict what would have happened without Second Impact."

"Huh. I never saw any of those," Maya admitted. "Maybe they're more popular in Germany, I guess. Or the west in general." She sighed. "There's not a lot of cool entertainment that's been made here since Second Impact. Fantastic plots about aliens or magic appeal a little bit less when they don't seem so impossible, and a lot of the stuff that still bothers is full of clichés."

"Like that Eva book?" Anita asked.

Maya nodded.

"It didn't feel cliché to me," Anita admitted. "But I haven't read a lot of things like it."

"I finished Volume One," Maya said. "Do you want to borrow it? Maybe I could borrow some of your books in return?"

Anita smiled. "That sounds fun," she said. "Trading back and forth… I did bring a lot of stuff from Germany with me. If you like aliens… you'll love what's there."

Anita had read a science fiction book once at Nerv-03, when she first arrived, because it had just been sitting there. Later, she'd asked for more, and had been given them eagerly. She only read the novels that featured aliens, trying desperately to understand the psychology of non-humans.

By that process, she'd learned a lot of human psychology. Sadly, that was all she learned. Aliens and angels remained as inexplicable as ever. Motivations, desires, fears… the books couldn't explain them. They were just stupid little stories.

As a child, nothing had frustrated her so much as that.

Stories weren't real, and they'd never be real. The best they'd ever give you is an understanding of the human mind, which was useful if you were planning on being a psychologist, but not useful if you were going to spend a great deal of time fighting aliens. She'd told herself it might come in handy during other wars she might find herself in, wars against human beings, but even that wasn't true.

War stories might reveal a lot about cowardice, a lot about not knowing if you were brave enough to fight, maybe even a lot about how easy it was to kill and how scarring it was, but to find out how they'd react in strategy, you'd need to read non-fiction.

Fiction wasn't good enough.

Anita read the fictional stories for entertainment, because everyone needed downtime and she'd go mad if all she thought about was Evangelion. Gendo had mocked her for that last night, but she didn't care, he was an idiot.

She read stories to deal with people like him.

If she didn't bother with that sort of thing… she honestly thought she'd end up killing him.

**3490:52:18**


	36. In which a game is played

**In which a game is played**

_"All love is unrequited, Stephan. All of it." - Susan Ivanova, Babylon 5, by J. Michael Straczynski_

Despite the long ride, the three pilots were still the first people to arrive at the party. Daisuke opened the door, smiling.

"Hey, guys," he said. "Glad you could make it."

"Of course!" Maya said brightly, kicking off her shoes and entering the apartment.

Anita held out the gift she'd brought along. "Here you go," she said brightly. "Happy birthday."

"Thanks!" Daisuke said. He looked over at Gendo, uncertainly. Maya looked back at him, and realized he was wondering why Gendo had come at all. Maya wondered that herself for a few moments, but eventually decided that Asuka or Anita must have forced him to participate. Gendo didn't seem to want to be here.

"Is your uncle here?" Maya asked.

"He'll be showing up in a few minutes. There was an emergency call or something. He didn't explain it at all." Daisuke didn't sound happy about that.

Anita walked into the living room, looking around. "It's exactly like Ritsuko's and Asuka's apartments," she remarked. "Are all the places in Tokyo-3 like this?"

"Yes," Maya said. "Mine is like this too. The buildings around here all seem to be pretty cookie cutter," she added.

"My uncle says it's to make reconstruction and relocations easier," Daisuke explained. "If one building gets destroyed, you only need to know how the other buildings like it are designed."

"Oh." Maya looked at Anita and Gendo to see if they'd react to the obvious. Again, neither seemed perturbed at the fact that their piloting Evangelion inevitably led to destruction that other people were constantly working to fix. Why was she the only one who cared about the collateral damage that resulted every time an Evangelion was aboveground?

"So-" Daisuke began, but he cut himself off. "Oh, it's Ryoji-san! Hey!"

"Ryoji and Ritsuko," Ryoji corrected, stepping into the doorway with Ritsuko behind him. "Hey, Daisuke!"

Maya wasn't paying any attention to either boy. Ritsuko had finally gotten around to dyeing her hair, and had picked a green color. Maya wasn't normally a fan of impossible hair colors, but something about the black dress Ritsuko was wearing made her look… well, she looked pretty hot. Well, she would have if Maya had been into that sort of thing.

"Didn't you use that shade before?" Daisuke asked jokingly. He and Kaji (and Maya) were just wearing casual wear; T-shirts and jeans. Anita and Gendo had remained in their school uniforms.

"I ran out of new colors, okay?" Ritsuko responded. "Is that a problem?"

"You could always go back to your natural hair color for a bit," Daisuke responded. "I'm sure you've forgotten it at this point."

"Har, har." Ritsuko held out the present she'd brought. "This is from Maya and me. We hope you like it." Kaji held out his present as well, and Daisuke took them all and went to the kitchen, where he placed the presents beside a box that was presumably from his uncle. Also sitting on the table was a cake in white frosting. It wasn't large, but there'd be enough to go around.

"So, uh…" Daisuke looked around. "I have some games…" He gestured not to a video game console, but to a stack of board games, several in foreign languages. "Don't worry, the rules are pretty easy to learn."

They ultimately settled for something in Japanese, just because everything in the game seemed to have jokes associated with. They spent an hour playing, having more fun reading the cards they received out loud than actually competing. Fifteen minutes in, Kyoko and Makoto joined the party and the game, and while Makoto caught up in score quickly, Kyoko languished with Gendo (who barely bothered and rarely smirked, let alone laughed), and Maya (who had had a run of bad luck).

Despite the setbacks for some players, everyone except Gendo was having a good time.

"Normally I hate board games," Ritsuko commented. "It feels like it takes everyone forever to take their turns."

"Yeah," Makoto agreed. "Real time is usually better, but…" He paused as Daisuke drew a card and read it aloud to the group, and laughed for a moment afterwards. "I guess since we aren't just waiting, it's cool."

Daisuke paused a moment, staring up at the clock in the living room. Maya wondered why before remembering that Agent Yamada still hadn't returned. This wasn't "a few minutes" by any stretch of the imagination.

"Uh…" she started to say, before realizing it would probably just be best not to draw attention to it. Sadly, though, everyone had turned to her. "Uh… Yeah! It's great the way this game entertains you no matter whose turn it is!"

Ryoji raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. Daisuke finished his turn, and Ritsuko began hers. Ritsuko was much better at reading the cards out loud than anyone else; Maya laughed much harder after she was finished reading than someone like Ryoji.

Another half hour passed before Yamada Kaito finally opened the front door.

"Hey kids," he said. "Sorry I'm late. There were a few issues at Nerv that had to be taken care of."

Gendo perked up. "Related to the Evangelion Units?" he asked, hesitantly. "Or something less important?"

"Not the Evas, no. But it's still pretty important. The stupid news channels are trying to be all over us. It really doesn't help with the riots…"

Anita sighed. "I don't understand why they're rioting. Nerv is trying to protect everyone." Ritsuko nodded enthusiastically.

Kaito shrugged. "Some people don't think that Nerv is the only way that we can fight the Angels, and as a general rule they don't think that Nerv is the cheapest way we can do it. They're protesting because they want what they think is a better way."

"So you're saying there isn't a better way?" Ryoji asked.

"I don't think there is, no." Kaito went into the kitchen and got himself a drink. "I could be wrong, of course, but… Commander Ikari really does tell me quite a bit, and from the sounds of things it seems that Evangelion units are the only weapons that can really fight an Angel. Our enemy has got all kinds of technology that only Nerv has been able to crack."

"But surely-" Makoto began, and then he cut off. "Eh, it doesn't matter. It's a party, right? Let's have a party!"

Ritsuko and Maya nodded enthusiastically.

"Maybe Daisuke should open his presents, now," Anita suggested. "We're all here."

"Yes," Kaito agreed. "That sounds good."

Daisuke blushed a little, and rose. Everyone followed him to the table, where various presents sat. Daisuke started with his uncle's present, which turned out to be the latest Nintendo console. After thanking him profusely, he moved onto his friends gifts.

Ryoji had supplied some comic books, Kyoko had bought him a light novel about some mysteries, and Makoto had brought in a CD. Daisuke was enthusiastic about all the gifts, but even more so about the old DVDs that Anita had brought. Lastly, he opened Ritsuko and Maya's gift.

"Thanks," he said. Maya didn't think he really sounded all that enthusiastic, but it was nice of him to pretend.

Ritsuko set to work with Kaito, helping him set up the Nintendo unit so that Daisuke would be able to play it as soon as possible. Daisuke turned on a music player and put in the new CD, and Kyoko and Makoto started dancing (by themselves). Gendo sat down and watched, while Anita and Ryoji had a conversation about something.

This left Maya and Daisuke.

He grinned, a little awkwardly. She didn't blame him. The gift was, in retrospect, very poorly chosen.

"So, uh… how's it going?" he asked.

"The game was pretty fun," she said. She looked around at everyone. "And I guess the party is still going…" She smiled.

This made his smile seem more confident.

"So, uh, Maya…" He faltered.

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering what you were going to be doing next weekend."

"I don't know. An Angel might attack. I don't have a lot of advanced plans…"

Daisuke sighed. "Well, uh… If any Angel doesn't attack, how'd you like to go see a movie?"

Maya, for one brief moment, thought he meant another group outing, which really did sound fun. But it was clear in his tone of voice that being with other people was the last thing on Daisuke's mind. She hesitated, not because she was tempted, but because she didn't want to hurt his feelings.

"I… N- no thanks, Daisuke," she said at last. "I… I don't really have time for boys right now." A reasonable excuse, she thought.

"I… oh."

Maya turned away, blushing. "Sorry," she said.

Daisuke didn't say anything in response. No one else seemed to have noticed their conversation. Hesitantly, Daisuke went and gathered up his gifts.

"I'm just going to put these in my room," he explained. "I'll be right back."

His uncle, who had been behind the television fiddling with cords, backed up and into Daisuke, causing him to accidentally drop the book Maya and Ritsuko had given him. It fell onto the floor, and several smaller pieces of paper fell from them.

Maya rushed forward to gather them up, and saw that they weren't paper at all, but pictures. The original pictures, including one of Jet Alone. She felt Kaito over her shoulder.

"Where did you get these?" he asked coolly.

**3488:58:11**


	37. In which being children isn't a defense

**In which being children isn't an escape from accusations of treason **

_"Deserve? I don't know about deserve. Did I deserve to be sent down here?" - Pravuil, Mister Monday, by Garth Nix_

"They're not mine!" Maya said.

Kaito turned to Ritsuko immediately. "You're the other one who gave him this present..." he said. He took one of the photographs.

"But sir," Kyoko protested, "the photos are in the newspapers, aren't they? She probably just cut some out and attached them to better paper so he could se-"

"This one wasn't in the tabloids," Kaito said, holding up a picture of Eva-02 stabbing the Angel. There went that defense. The picture was too good for Kaito to forget it was there.

Maya glared at Ritsuko. How could she have been so stupid as to bring original photographs to a Nerv employee's house? Even if they were for the worker's son, Ritsuko should have known better than to flaunt the rules so obviously.

"Uh…"

Kaito looked almost angry. "Did you leave the shelters to take these photographs?" he asked after a moment.

Ritsuko nodded.

"Did anyone go with you?"

Ritsuko almost nodded, but shook her head just in time. Kaito wasn't fooled, though. His gaze became even colder.

"Are you sure?"

"I went with her," Ryoji said.

Kaito looked from Ryoji to Ritsuko to Ryoji, as if questioning if more students had joined them in their escapades. All the children, except Daisuke and perhaps Gendo, knew that several more people had participated, but none of them spoke up. It wouldn't be fair to Shigeru, who didn't even have the benefit of being there to defend himself.

"You two are going to have to come with me," he said after a moment. He looked at each pilot in turn. "Did any of you know about this?"

Gendo shook his head, which was unsurprising. Maya reluctantly admitted to it, nodding her head very slowly. Anita did as well.

"You guys are coming in too, then. The rest of you can stay, though, and finish up the party."

This meant, of course, a party of four. Kyoko, Makoto, Gendo, and Daisuke. Not an especially fun party at all, but none of the three guests showed any inclination to leave. As Maya put her shoes on and took one last look into the apartment, the three actually social individuals were setting up a video game, and forcing Gendo to play along with them.

The kids were gathered into Kaito's car (with Ryoji getting the passenger seat), and the slow and, due to Tokyo-3's overcrowding, long car ride began. Kaito said nothing coherent, but muttered under his breath about something a few times. Maya tried to listen in, but the background noise of the city kept her from being able to distinguish his words.

Ritsuko exchanged nervous glances with Maya, Ryoji fidgeted frequently, and Anita sat as still as she could, though she was sweating. Maya, for her part, tried to focus on breathing. Kaito didn't seem hugely angry, but… What would happen to all of them? How much trouble would they be in? Should she have told one of the adults about this before it had snowballed to these proportions? She didn't think that a tabloid could get anyone in such trouble.

They took the car-train into the Geofront, a trip which awed everyone except Maya, as no one else in the car had ever seen the view before. They all managed to forget the situation for a few moments, though, which did make Maya rather envious of their luck.

Once Kaito had parked and they began their elevator ride, Kaito called into headquarters. "I managed to find the source of the leak," he said. "You will not believe who it was. You won't believe it a bit."

The elevator ride led them to an unmarked floor, and Kaito took them through two sets of hallways before finding a small, cool room for them to relax in. "This'll do," he said. "They'll be here shortly," he added. "I'll be right back. Don't try running off anywhere, there are cameras."

If Maya had been a snippier child, she might have pointed out that so far the cameras didn't seem to have accomplished very much, as the no-doubt highly filmed security shelters had been unable to verify that several children had broken out of the facility twice with no problems. She would not have had to be much snippier either. Nerv seemed to be the failure here.

Eventually, three adults entered the room; the commander, the captain, and Doctor Ayanami. Anita looked embarrassed when she saw that Asuka was one of the adults concerned. Ryoji perked up (possibly because of Asuka's or Rei's beauty; even Maya saw that), and Ritsuko fidgeted uncomfortably in her seat.

"Hello," Commander Ikari said. He did not sound angry.

That was okay though. He towered over all of them, and looked each one in the eye in turn, and that was terrifying enough.

"Uh…" Maya was the only one who managed to make a syllable escape her lips.

"I'm not going to lie to you," he continued. "This is a very troublesome position each of you are in. It's arguable that leaking military information like that counts as treason." Everyone flinched. "I don't think it quite applies here, though…"

"Because we're children?" Ritsuko asked hopefully.

"Something like that," Doctor Ayanami said. The woman was never especially warm, but today she seemed cold (and sharp) as ice.

"Now," Commander Ikari said, "The good news here is that what you have released is nowhere near as classified as other things might have been. The forms of the Angels were kept secret because of how terrifying they can be, something I'm sure you can appreciate, but they're not something that needs to be kept hidden."

"Same with the Evas," the captain noted. She was glaring at Anita.

"Yes," the commander agreed. "However, the Jet Alone acquisition was kept secret, mostly because while it is useful for us, using it might be seen in poor taste by others. Understandably."

"So people don't have the right to know that their city is being defended not just by regular giant robots, but by a giant robot powered by nuclear energy? A robot that'll go off should it get too damaged and decimate Tokyo-3 regardless of the Angels do?" Ritsuko asked, sounding angrier

"Jet Alone is not going to be used against Angels with a high probability of detonating it," Commander Ikari said.

"The Sixth Angel did not demonstrate capabilities remotely similar to the Fifth or even the Fourth," Doctor Ayanami said. "Note also that Jet Alone was not deployed until the Angel had had a chance to become focused on the Evas, who will not cause devastation if they become destroyed, or even damaged."

Ritsuko bit her lip.

"So what'll happen to us now?" Ryoji asked.

"I'm not sure," admitted the commander. "Locking you up seems extreme, and fining you punishes your fathers, who probably had no control over you when the Angels attacked. They have a way of hitting us on school days."

"Hmm…" the doctor looked at them. "Perhaps we don't have to punish them at all. If it was during school time, I do believe the teacher is the one responsible for punishment… If he's not responsible for them having the opportunity to sneak out in the first place."

Captain Soryu considered. "The school could give them detentions," she said. "But… the teacher? Do we have the authority to do anything about him?" She looked the most concerned about this question, far more than either of the others.

"No," Doctor Ayanami said, almost a little too quick, "I don't believe we do. But the school, aware that a teacher managed to miss several students straying into danger, will probably take its own actions."

"Good, then that's settled." Commander Ikari stared deeply at Ritsuko and Ryoji. "Keep in mind, both of you; that you're getting off quite lightly. There are quite a few military organizations that would have no problem with making your lives living hells. Stay in the shelters from now on. You could get killed out there."

Ryoji looked over at Captain Soryu for the slightest of moments, and then looked the commander in the eyes. He nodded. Ritsuko nodded after he did, but begrudgingly.

"Agent Yamada is waiting outside. He'll return you to your homes," the captain said. "You two may now leave."

Both teens rose hurriedly and left the room. This left Maya and Anita outnumbered, and Maya was dreading whatever would come now.

"Maya, Anita," Commander Ikari began, "you two knew about all of this?"

Anita nodded. "I'm sorry for not saying anything," she said.

"Why didn't you?" the doctor asked.

"I…" Anita gulped and looked away. "I liked the idea of Eva-02 being in the papers," she explained. "Where everyone could see it. It… it's what I was born for, wasn't it? Piloting? So shouldn't people know?"

The captain sighed sadly.

"Maybe," the commander admitted. "But not now. The world will know soon enough, I promise you that. It's probably inevitable that our control over the press will slip up."

"What about you, Maya?" Captain Soryu asked. "What's your justification?"

Maya gulped. "I… I didn't really think… I was trying to convince them not to do it. To stay inside the shelters."

The commander and the doctor exchanged a quick glance, and then Doctor Ayanami asked, "You're telling us the absolute truth?"

Maya nodded.

"That's good enough, then," Commander Ikari said. "But, Maya, if something like this happens again, you're under orders to report it. I don't care who is doing it, if people are running out there to take pictures, they're putting themselves in danger. There were a couple of thrill seekers during the Fourth Angel who learned that the hard way."

Maya gulped. She'd never realized that people died during those fights.

"That goes for you too, Anita," Captain Soryu added. "And we'll be sure to let Gendo know too, just in case."

"Yes," the pilots said in unison.

"Good," said the captain. "Now both of you are to come with me. Extra synch training this weekend."

"What?" Maya shouted.

"It'll keep you out of trouble," Asuka said jokingly. "Besides, Maya, you need to keep your synch level up; this past week of not using the real deal might hurt you in the long run."

Maya sighed and followed Asuka and Anita to the Eva Cages. Today would just be another day in the grind.

That night, she considered calling Ritsuko, but decided against it. She was far too tired, and the knowledge that tomorrow she wouldn't even have the morning free made her all the wearier.

**3482:22:09**


	38. In which Asuka prepares breakfast

**In which Asuka prepares breakfast perfectly**

_"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven...a time to love and a time to hate..." - Ecclesiastes, author disputed_

Anita awoke to the clanging of pots and pans in the kitchen. Groggily, she pushed herself out of bed. It was only just barely after six, according to her alarm clock. 'Why is Asuka up so early? It's a Sunday…' Anita wondered.

She struggled into the kitchen. Asuka was angrily preparing a western breakfast. Much to Anita's surprise, everything looked delicious. The toast was a perfect golden brown; the eggs had been scrambled to perfect consistency; and the bacon smelled so good that it was all Anita could do not to just pick it right out of the pan.

Gendo struggled into the kitchen shortly after Anita, looking disgustedly at the food being prepared. Asuka kept forgetting that he was a vegetarian.

"What are you doing?" he asked disbelievingly. Anita thought he almost sounded like a normal teenage boy.

"Just making a little breakfast, Gendo-chan!"

"Don't call me that."

Asuka put some toast and bacon on a plate and handed it to Gendo. He glared at it, and then at her. "Vegetarian," he said.

"I know! That's not really meat!" Asuka grinned. "But it smells just like it!"

Gendo sat down at the table and picked at the bacon idly. Anita turned from him and back to Asuka, stepping forward before remembering (too late, for Asuka's attention was now fully devoted to her) that Asuka only ever went from angry to happy so quickly if she wasn't talking to the person who'd made her angry in the first place.

"Here *you* go, Anita," Asuka said, pushing a plate of food into her hands.

"Are you okay?" Anita asked.

"Of course I'm fine." Asuka served up some food for herself and sat down. Anita hesitated, not quite sure it was safe to be at the same table as Asuka.

"Really? You seem…"

Asuka glared. "Upset?"

"Y-"

"Maybe it's because I expected more from you, Anita." Asuka bit into her toast, ripping it in half. She continued eating, chewing in an almost dramatic way.

"I…" Anita sighed. "This is about the photographs, isn't it, Aka?"

"What else?"

Asuka wasn't the only one who was eating quickly. Gendo was shoveling food into his mouth with a speed Anita had never seen before. He hated them in the best of times, of course, so now that things were tense, he would desperately want to get away.

"Asuka-san, it was just photographs…" Anita gulped. "And Maya didn't think it was a big enough deal to report!"

"Maya's new at Nerv. Just because you say her mother was a competent professional doesn't mean that the daughter knows everything."

It was at this point that Gendo finished his food. He very nearly threw his dishes into the sink before fleeing back into his room. Anita flinched at the clattering sounds. Asuka remained glaring. What a wonderful morning.

"That doesn't mean she shouldn't know anything!" Anita protested. "Japan is different than Germany, Asuka! They expect different things! They expect me to be like a normal kid here, to go to school and care about TV or the internet or music and something! All that's weird enough! I'm sorry I did one thing wrong!"

She dumped her plate onto the counter and stormed into her room. She did not want to put up with this right now. Asuka was being completely unfair. Completely.

**3473:45:18**

* * *

><p>Unfortunately, Asuka was in charge of synch tests. And with the extra training underway, Anita had to leave her room eventually, take a shower, and join Asuka and Gendo in the car. There was an uncomfortable silence. Anita had never yelled at Asuka before. She wasn't sure if she'd ever yelled at anyone before, except maybe Angels or simulations.<p>

They weren't human. They didn't count.

Like always, they parked at an aboveground garage and took an elevator into the Geofront. It was cramped and awkward. Gendo was practically hiding in the corner, attempting to be as far away from either of them as possible. Asuka stood right by the exit, tapping her foot angrily, her arms crossed. Anita stood by the buttons, but looked up at the display counting down the floors until they got to leave this hell.

When the door opened, Asuka darted off first, following one set of winding corridors to the observation deck where their synchronization would be monitored. In Germany, only two people had ever paid attention to her during those periods. Here in Japan, a staff of fifty was on hand at all times. Anita wasn't sure why they took things so seriously.

She and Gendo walked side by side for a little while. Anita didn't say anything, because she didn't want to help Asuka with the stupid pet plan of bringing Gendo out of his shell. Gendo didn't say anything because he was an antisocial idiot.

They separated at the locker rooms. Maya was already inside the girl's one, and she smiled at Anita. Anita didn't have the heart to smile back.

"Are you okay?" Maya asked politely.

"I'm just not looking forward to the test," Anita said. That was semi-true. She couldn't concentrate right now, and concentration was the key to piloting. What if her synch ratio didn't go up as far as it could have? What if it didn't get up as high as the record she'd broken yesterday? Neither of these prospects was very appealing, and it would be all Asuka's fault for messing her up like this.

"Oh…" Maya sighed. "That's weird for you…" She sat down and began removing her clothes. Anita had noticed that Maya was generally hesitant about this, facing herself away from Anita, or sometimes even finding a way to hold off on changing until Anita was already going to leave.

"So, the pictures," Anita whispered.

"Yeah," Maya agreed. "I guess we did screw up a little there, didn't we?"

"Asuka sure thinks so…" Anita sighed. How was she supposed to have known that it was such a huge deal? They were just photographs, photographs of her, Anita Griffith, piloting Eva-02 and defeating the Angel with skill and confidence. It would show the world that they were being taken care of; that the girl who had been born for this project was succeeding immensely in what was the most important thing in the world. Keeping everything a secret was stupid.

"I hope you're not in too much trouble," Maya said.

"Of course not," Anita lied. "Asuka's… a bit upset with me, but… I think she'll live."

"For your sake, I hope so." Maya finished changing into her plugsuit and stood up. "Well, I guess we should go now," she said. "Hopefully tomorrow they'll have fixed my Eva so they can stop worrying about things like that."

Anita hoped so too. The last two Angels had attacked six days apart. Things weren't even "monster of the week" at that sort of rate. Who could say when the next one would arrive?

Who could say when Anita would be called upon to face death for mankind again? Her, and yes, Gendo and Maya too. The world demanded a lot from them, even Anita saw that. She didn't mind. She'd meet the demand and then some. Two Angels had been defeated handily, and if she just stayed calm and focused, she could defeat any other Angel that would be coming.

Anita stood up, her plugsuit properly on, and followed Maya through the doors at the far end of the locker room. Maya was routed to the simulation room, but Anita walked calmly into Eva-02's cage and was assisted into an Entry Plug. No one spoke to her, no one used her name. She didn't mind so much, but in Germany at least the workers always tried to act like they cared. She was piloting for them, after all.

Soon the Entry Plug was inserted, the radio was properly disconnected so she couldn't hear a word that was being said in the observation deck, and the LCL was humming around her. She took in a deep breath of it. Even after so six years of training, she still felt her gag reflex trying to spit all the water out, to not let it into her lungs.

She shut her eyes and tried to ignore the feeling.

In response, images of Asuka from this morning conjured themselves in her mind's eye. She tried to think different thoughts; remembering the deaths of the Angels, the happier moments with Asuka, the few times she'd met Maya's mother.

"Anita?" It was Doctor Ayanami's voice. She sounded concerned.

"Yes ma'am?"

"Your synch ratio stopped rising suddenly. Are you feeling all right?"

Anita nodded. "Of course, ma'am."

"Oh, there we go. It's jumping up again. Must have been a momentary jitter… Never seen-" The radio turned off again.

So her synch ratio wasn't affected. That was great news and Anita clung to that thought as best she could, trying to envision Eva Unit 02 and herself becoming one entity, one giant robot that would tear any Angel limb from limb. Or whatever they had instead of limbs. It didn't matter.

This was what she was born for, and this was what she was going to do, and she didn't care if she got in a few scraps with Asuka along the way.

**3472:52:55**


	39. In which Rei's day is seen

**In which Rei's day is seen**

_"The trouble with Eichmann was precisely that so many were like him, and that the many were neither perverted nor sadistic, that they were, and still are, terribly and terrifyingly normal." - Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil, by Hannah Arendt_

When Rei woke up, she'd spend as long as she could in bed, trying to savor the feeling of the blankets and pillows all around her. What with the urgency of her day, and the empty feeling her bed soon left her with, she generally didn't spend more than fifteen minutes awake in the bed. But those fifteen minutes before her brain caught up with everything were fifteen heavenly minutes.

After she stood up, of course, she went through the usual daily routine. She'd shower, put on make-up, go through her uncooperative hair with a brush (the struggle it put up now had made her decide early in life never to let it get long), and find something for breakfast that only required being removed from a box or wrapper as preparation.

Without even stopping to eat, because she could do that on the ride into work, she'd leave the apartment and begin the walk to the trains that went underground. She liked the view. Today she followed her usual routine of turning right after leaving her apartment building, but a moment later she remembered that she'd recently changed apartments and turned around, heading the other direction. Gendo had messed things up for her in quite a number of ways.

A simple train ride later, and today, like every day, she was in the Geofront, safe, sound, and completely at ease. While most of the workers she'd seen in the Geofront had felt claustrophobic, even if only on their first day, Rei refused to let the fact that an earthquake could have destroyed all the tunnels of the Geofront and killed them all bother her. It was a skill she'd picked up from Second Impact. You had to convince yourself that it was all going to be okay, because the only alternative was curling up and dying.

Even while watching the film footage of the boats going over Yokohama, even while everyone else in her family watching broke down, Rei refused to let things get to her.

Well, that wasn't quite true. Incompetence got to her quickly, and delays or schedules she couldn't blame anyone for bothered her too. On this day, she went to the Eva Cage containing Unit 01 with Lieutenant Aida. For some reason, lately the man wouldn't stop fidgeting.

She glared at him. "Are you all right, Aida?"

"Uh… of course."

She raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Better to seem a unified front while dealing with the workers of the Eva Cages.

"How's the status?" she asked as soon as she walked in.

Lieutenant Asari was, as he always was when she or anyone else entered, ready and unsurprised by the sudden arrival. "We're almost done. We can maybe set something up tomorrow evening. A couple hours of nerve testing with Maya in the Entry Plug."

"I want it done tomorrow morning. We'll start her up at eleven o'clock."

Asari turned to the other two major workers. They were currently digging around with Eva-01's left fingers, making sure each was in place and that each nerve was properly connected. He frowned and turned back to Rei. "Of course, ma'am," he said. "That shouldn't be a problem."

Rei nodded and left the cage quickly, Aida trailing behind her, still nervous.

"It's impressive, isn't it?" she asked.

"The speed they've got going?" Kensuke said nervously. "It's… yeah… it's great that they managed to fix so many broken bones so quickly."

Rei laughed, suddenly understanding. "You know where they got the parts from, don't you?" she asked. "An unmarked room?" Just the way he was trembling was proof enough. She smirked. "Don't worry, Lieutenant. That room's unmarked for various reasons, but nothing in there is secret or classified. If it was, the door would have been locked."

"Then why didn't you tell them about it?" Aida asked, gulping.

"Simple," Rei said. "The doors around here have sensors that report when they're opened and closed. Since the Magi told us that they… mispressed a button, I guess… and went in there, we knew that once the spare parts were needed, they'd go there themselves."

"You trust everyone to be that brave? To go to an unmarked room and take supplies?"

"The Commander has strange opinions on things, and on people," Rei noted. "Always dreaming up something or another. It was his plan, his orders. Sometimes I think he's testing everyone, you know." She wondered why she was saying this to Aida, but she didn't think she really minded sharing so much information. It was strange to be so open.

"Tests? Why would he do that?"

Rei got a hold of herself and shrugged the question off. "He always was a little strange," she pointed out. "In classes too."

"I guess…" Kensuke muttered. "Still feels a lot weird, don't you think?" When Rei didn't answer, he sighed, and made his own way back to Command.

Rei, for her part, went to Kaworu's office. He wasn't there, so she made herself comfortable in the seat across his desk. He'd show up sooner or later. In the meantime, she looked around, considering each decoration in turn. There was a degree from a German college she'd never heard of, a picture of a much younger Kaworu with family, various pictures of scenic vistas (some of which definitely didn't exist anymore), and a small plaque with something in… Hebrew? Something that looked like it, at any rate.

She didn't get much time to consider this. Kaworu finally arrived in his office, and sat down at his desk. He looked tired for a moment, but soon his all-too-familiar smile appeared, and he regarded Rei with a friendliness she felt certain was completely fabricated.

"Doctor Ayanami," he said brightly. "I apologize for being a few minutes behind schedule. I'm afraid that a few things conspired to keep me distracted."

She nodded once, appreciating his word choice. Conspired. So it seemed that he'd been talking to Seele again. For a representative FOR them, he sure seemed to be spending more time talking to them than to the people at Nerv. Oh well, that was none of her concern.

"I hear that you got the Captain to approve your G-Type armor proposal," she commented.

"Yes?"

"I just find it interesting," she remarked. "Watanabe told me that the G-Type proposal was your own idea, and then you go running to the Captain to get it approved. Most people in R&D have restrictions to prevent them from doing that."

Kaworu shrugged. "If it saves mankind from the Angels, I have no qualms with getting the Captain's attention. Besides, I'm not in Research and Development."

"How do you know your armor will help mankind? We don't even have any guns that fit the armor. A gun of that size would be useless."

"If it fired bullets," Kaworu corrected. "If it fired something else…"

"It would take more electric power than Nerv has or ever will have. You're wasting resources, Nagisa." He just would be, too. If his job had anything to do with finances, this would be perfect to get Shinji removed! She could just see the report now, something about the ridiculous plans that Nerv implemented under Shinji.

"I-" Kaworu began.

"I've cancelled the G-Type armor project for now," she added coldly. "If you want it re-approved, you can go through the normal circles of actually showing the Captain the proposal and letting her make the decision."

Kaworu looked horrified. "You did what?"

"You heard me." She rose. "If you want to make a complaint, go right ahead. I couldn't care less at this point; I doubt your supervisors will be impressed by the way you approached things."

"You… you…" he stuttered. Of course. She'd found him out. She left his room without another word, confident in another good deed for Shinji done.

The thought of illicit projects reminded her of the classified project she'd put Hikari on, so she decided to visit her next. Hikari was struggling with the project, it really wasn't going the way that either of them hoped, and Rei realized two important things, looking at the obviously stressed and overtired woman hunched over a desk. The first was that Hikari needed a break before she drove herself insane. The second was that other people were desperately needed, and that Hikari wasn't gathering them.

"You come with me to today's synch tests, and after they're finished, we'll work on picking some people out," Rei said kindly. "Okay?"

Hikari smiled and nodded. "Yeah…" The reason she was working, to save the children, was a noble one, but Rei wondered if it was beginning to become more than a goal.

The synch tests stretched through most of the day and went rather nicely, although there was one blip in Anita's synch. Rei asked kindly if there was a problem, but the situation seemed to resolve itself somehow and the day went on. No problems there.

At the end of the day, there was but one left thing left to do. Dinner with Shinji.

She joined him in his private apartments, an area behind his office that could put a house to shame. They had been built before he'd become the Commander, or they would have been much smaller, but there was nothing to be done about it now. In all fairness, Shinji had sold the antique furniture that the old Commander had insisted on, and replaced it with far more economical pieces.

He smiled when she arrived. "Hey, Rei," he said. "I saw the synch tests. Everyone's been improving. Good job."

Rei blushed. "I really don't do all that much," she argued. "It's just supervising. The pilots are the skilled ones."

Shinji nodded and led Rei into the dining room. He pulled back her chair, which she sat down in gratefully, and then retrieved a dish from the kitchen. "Indian?" she guessed, looking at the reddish liquid inside the bowl he brought.

"Yeah. Rasam. Thought we should try something new." He spooned out two bowlfuls.

She took a spoonful of it, and flinched at the sourness of the dish. Besides that, it was quite tasty.

"So," Shinji said. "Our favorite Vice-Commander goofed."

"Oh?" Rei asked.

"He let slip that the Angel is attacking sometime this week," Shinji explained. "Not tonight, I'm guessing. None of them seem to arrive at night."

"Courteous of them," Rei noted.

"Indeed. But this does give us a little forewarning. Hopefully the S2 Engine will be retrievable this time," Shinji added. "We need one."

"We have one," Rei said. "I don't see why-"

"It's a back-up for an emergency situation and you know it. We need one for the Evas."

Rei frowned. "Still, it would be far less dange-"

Again he cut her off. "No, Rei," the commander said. "That's there for a reason I've explained. It'll keep Seele busy, at any rate. We just need the Seventh Angel to cooperate."

No point arguing, Rei decided. It never worked with Shinji. At any rate, she'd rather enjoy dinner with him. The way he prepared the meal for her every day… She knew he cared about her.

**3467:16:22**


	40. In which each thought leads to questions

**In which each thought leads to new questions**

_"Out, damned spot!" - Lady Macbeth, Macbeth, by William Shakespeare_

"Ma'am, may I speak with you privately?"

Asuka looked up from the synch test and saw Idane Kimie, one of her older and better friends from her college years. "You can call me Asuka, you know," she said teasingly. "It's not like we haven't known each other for a decade."

Kimie blushed. "Right. May I?"

Asuka stood up and stretched. This synch test had been going on for hours; it was so nice to be on her feet again. "Of course!" she said happily. "Anywhere in particular, or should we just step outside for a few minutes?"

Kimie considered for a few moments, and then said, "I think the corridor will do fine for this discussion, ma-Asuka."

The two of them left the observation room quickly. No one paid them any attention as they left; apparently something strange had happened to one of the Evas. Asuka guessed it was Eva-00, because Maya and especially Anita never had troubles. Not with the Evangelion, anyway, though apparently Anita was lately having difficulty appreciating why things would be classified. Grr…

Asuka shut the door behind her as they entered the corridor and leaned against it, her arms crossing over her red uniform. She wasn't a big fan of that color any more, especially not on her hair, but her captain's uniform had proven to be one of the few exceptions.

"So what is it, Kimie?" she asked.

"The Magi reported that someone hacked into the papers that Nerv has on you. You know, the forms you filled out when joining, various reports superior officers have filed on you, promotions, personal history that's verifiable, that sort of thing."

"What?" Asuka stared at Kimie in shock. She hadn't reported all of her life's story to Gehirn when she'd joined, certainly not the Soryu Expedition and what happened to her there, but she knew that between Gehirn and Nerv, all sorts of data on that would be in there. Her presence at the Soryu Expedition was the earliest thing that would be verifiable on her, most of the records of her few years before Second Impact had been lost.

"I'm sorry, Asuka. Whoever did the hacking was pretty good about it. We couldn't figure out who it was, or even which console they used."

"Dammit," Asuka muttered. "It's no big deal, I mean… It's not like there are any super-dark secrets in my files, but if someone's hacking the Magi, that is a problem. Are you sure they did it inside the facility?" she asked after a moment's thinking.

"Well…" Kimie hesitated. "It could have been done from any of the seven Magi systems. Here, Matsushiro, Berlin, Boston, Hamburg, Beijing, or Groom Lake… Though I'm not sure why the Americans or the Chinese would care."

"The Germans wouldn't either. They probably printed out everything about me before my transfer was official, just to be able to keep accessing the records on me without having to worry about permission. I guess that leaves Japan."

Both women frowned, trying to think of anyone who could get into Nerv without triggering alarms that might be interested in Asuka's past. Neither could come up with any reasonable suspects; the vast majority of them knew that Asuka's past was dark and that it wasn't worth bothering her, and everyone respected that.

So who was it?

**3466:45:57**

* * *

><p>Raidon looked at the latest orders and swore in frustration. The new G-Type armor was going to be halted until such time as the Captain reapproved it. First it was a priority order that needed to be finished by tomorrow, now it was on hold. He suspected that this was office politics, a subject he personally loathed.<p>

He didn't understand why people took it upon themselves to prove themselves better than everyone else, to prove that they ran the office and that no one else did, instead of just doing their damn jobs. It wasn't hard, was it?

Sighing, he decided that it would be best to take an early lunch break to distract himself from his frustrations. Maybe he'd run into someone and would be able to talk. He hadn't had a chance to talk with Kaito in awhile, and it was possible that he'd know more about the Jet Alone accident that had happened two weeks ago.

Regrettably, he didn't run into Kaito. He did, however, get a chance to meet with one of the Command Center Lieutenants, Aida Kensuke.

"Hello, sir," Raidon said politely. Kensuke didn't technically outrank him, but the three command center lieutenants seemed to get special treatment.

Kensuke looked up. "Oh hello, Watanabe." He smiled. "How's it going?"

"Not too bad," Raidon answered, sitting opposite Kensuke. "They just canceled a priority order, which is kinda stupid, but…"

"But we gotta follow orders, right? No matter how stupid they are?" Kensuke thought back to what Doctor Ayanami had said. Everything was a test. Or had that only applied to people who'd been Shinji's college classes? Then again, just because Raidon hadn't been in the particular class Kensuke had been didn't mean he hadn't learned something from Shinji.

Tests upon tests, all mixed in with secrets and plots. Kensuke wondered if he should try making some secret plots of his own, just for the fun of it all. Then of course, sanity won over and he became aware of how monumentally stupid that sounded. Still, though, he wondered how many people here at Nerv had deep dark secrets they were keeping from everyone else.

"No matter how stupid they are," Raidon agreed. "That sounds about right." He sighed. "I wish this war would hurry up and end sometimes, you know? Get everything over with so we don't have to worry about dumb things like someone offending someone else with a proposal for an armor type that wasn't filed correctly."

"Well, they count the Angels," Kensuke pointed out. "That seems like a silly thing to do if they're not expecting some end to this, or if there's going to be more than we'll live to see. Imagine fighting the Thirty-five thousand two hundred and eighty-sixth Angel."

Raidon laughed. "Yeah," he agreed. "I guess there's got to be a limit or something… Maybe they use one of the good telescopes and are tracking the Angels as they approach."

"Hmm…" Kensuke considered this. "Then why don't they know when each Angel will attack?" he asked.

"Because the Angels hide behind other planets or something before approaching? Wait until the telescope isn't tracking them anymore, jump to a nearby asteroid, and get off right in Earth orbit. They would have just enough time to arrive before anyone noticed; especially if they do it over the ocean in the day."

Kensuke thought about that for a minute, and then said simply, "But why keep that technique a secret?" He thought he had an idea of what Raidon would say, though.

He was right. "Why keep any of this a secret?"

Kensuke knew that Raidon had a point, but even though that answer would have been sufficient for many questions relating to Nerv, it couldn't possibly be the correct answer here. Something dark and mysterious was up for sure, but Kensuke knew he didn't understand it in the least. Suggesting that there was an innocent explanation was foolish.

But Asuka and Rei wouldn't participate in something evil, Kensuke knew that, so he decided to trust them, and thusly Nerv. If there were secrets, they were secrets for a reason.

**3466:10:08**

* * *

><p>Gendo left the Entry Plug twenty-five minutes after the test was over. For those twenty-five minutes, he chose to savor the feeling of the LCL, to immerse himself as completely as possible rather than have to leave again. He did not want to have to be between the captain and the second child again.<p>

He was vaguely aware that incriminating photographs of some sort involving Jet Alone had been leaked, but apparently it hadn't had anything to do with his destruction of it and- No. He tried not to think about that. Thinking about it made him feel sick, like he'd done something horribly wrong to the world, like he'd betrayed something.

In a way, he knew he had. Killing was wrong, according to everyone he'd ever met and every book he'd ever read. But there was something more than that, something he'd never noticed before. It was something that made him feel an invisible bond, not just with the people he knew, but all the billions of human beings on the planet. He couldn't explain it.

But he'd failed it already, killing so many people.

He tried to make himself focus. There was anger over pictures. Nerv had lied about something else related to Jet Alone, then.

But Rei was supposed to be a good person.

Why did she lie if she was a good person? He didn't understand.

He desperately wanted to understand her, but she pushed him away. If she was a good person, why wasn't she friendly? Why had she told him to kill?

There had to be good reasons, but she was hiding them and that was another lie of a sort, which brought Gendo right back to the beginning.

After twenty-five minutes of thinking, he got out of the Entry Plug. That helped him stop thinking. Life was better that way.

**3465:35:00**


	41. In which Anita launches solo

**In which Anita launches solo**

_"He unleashed against them his hot anger, his wrath, indignation and hostility-a band of destroying angels." - Book of Psalms, Author Disputed_

Anita woke up, took a shower, got dressed, went to the kitchen and realized that this morning wasn't going to be any better. Asuka wasn't making breakfast and she didn't look especially happy with Anita. This was getting to be ridiculous.

Gendo gave Anita a pitying glance as she poured herself some cereal. Asuka seemed quite content to be watching television. Well, content clearly wasn't the right word since she looked like she was fuming silently. Anita decided that it was not the time to get anywhere near Asuka, so she just ate silently next to Gendo and then when back to her room for the time being.

"You're not going to school today," Asuka announced as Anita reached the doorframe. "Doctor Ayanami wants all three of you to be doing more synch tests today."

"Yes, ma'am." Anita hesitated. "When are we leaving?"

"Ten-thirty."

That was… unusual. Nerv didn't generally make them wait that long for synch tests. Anita didn't mind though. She retreated to her room and turned her attention to some long overdue homework. It wasn't fun, but it helped her learn the kanji a bit better.

Finally, after what felt like far too much waiting, Asuka finally called her and Gendo, informing them that it was time to go. They again rode into Nerv in silence, and separated as quickly as possible. Again, Anita found Maya in the locker rooms.

"Hi," she said.

"Hello," Anita responded. "Glad we don't have school today?" she asked, fiddling with her locker combination. She kept forgetting that her German locker didn't have the same combination as her Japanese one.

"I guess," Maya said. "And it'll be nice to properly synch with Eva-01. That is supposed to be important, and we need to fight the Angels, but… I'd rather have spent the day with my friends, I guess. I haven't seen anyone since we got the chat about the photographs."

Anita nodded appreciatively. She was beginning to realize she missed some of the workers from Germany, especially in comparison to all the workers here. "Well, tomorrow we'll have a chance to see them," she said.

"Right. Tomorrow."

Something about the way Maya said "Tomorrow," made Anita think that she didn't really expect tomorrow to be any different.

Anita didn't care, though, if Maya didn't trust Nerv. Right now she just wanted to get into her Eva and relax.

**3445:01:33**

* * *

><p>"How are you feeling, Maya?" Hikari asked.<p>

Maya opened her eyes. "I feel pretty numb," she answered. "Is something wrong?"

Nothing looked wrong in the LCL, none of the monitors around her looked any different than normal, and nothing looked obviously broken. So why could she only feel her left arm, torso, neck and head?

"We're synching you bit by bit," Hikari explained. "This way if all the repairs had gone wrong, you wouldn't have felt that you were in hideous pain once we started up. Beginning synchronization in your right arm now."

Slowly, starting at her shoulder and working its way down to the tips of her fingers, the feeling returned. Nothing was unusual. Then they started on her left leg, then her right. Still nothing wrong.

"I'm fine!" she announced. "I feel great."

"Excellent," said Hikari. "Later this afternoon we'll be moving you into a Pribnow Box and will have you move around, okay?"

Maya grinned. "Okay!" she said. She didn't know what it was about this particular day, but to Maya, right now, the prospect of spending more time in here became fun. She wanted to have Eva-01 walk, run, and jump up and down, anything. Just to let her stay in the robot.

She shut her eyes and relaxed.

What a wonderful world this was.

**3444:40:00**

* * *

><p>On a plane flying over Hakone, the intercom came on. "This is the captain speaking. We have approached cruising altitude and are on our way to the lovely capital of South Korea, Suwon. With perfectly clear skies like the ones in fron-"<p>

The captain was cut off, and promptly died, as did his co-pilot. Most of the people in first class suffered horribly as the space between the back of their chairs and the chairs in front of them became quite smaller. The people in economy class, however, were merely tossed forward, and then back. The plane itself had somehow become crushed against empty space, and then began to fall backwards.

It landed in Ashinoko, and its completely inexplicable fall was recorded by one of the dozens of Tokyo-3's Sky Watch cameras. It also gathered pictures of a bird flying through the empty sky somehow being refracted into four images. The camera lacked a video feed, but managed to take enough pictures that when the Magi began to analyze them three seconds later. When the analysis was concluded, the Magi voted to give Captain Soryu one simple message: "Potential Angel detected."

"Dammit," Asuka said. "An Angel!"

"They just would attack during the test," Toji muttered. "Plans?"

"We haven't…" Kensuke began, but then cut himself off. Pressing a button, he switched the video feed he'd been observing on his own console onto the main screen. Everyone watched as a cloud over the south side of town began to change, and a blue shape emerged from it. The main body was an octahedron, but over each of its eight faces floated a triangle, though the only thing the videos ever recorded was the shape of light. Emerged from the clouds, it began to hover in place calmly. It showed no signs of movement.

Picture cameras, recording a new image every two and a half seconds, recorded that the Angel was a uniform blue.

Asuka watched it for a moment, hesitant. "Lieutenant, we shouldn't deploy Eva-01, should we?" she asked.

"The likelihood that something will go wrong is too high," Hikari answered. "We haven't even begun to test Eva-01."

"Right." Asuka thought, biting her lip. 'Anita, or Gendo? Which one do I deploy?' Finally, she decided to go with the one that she felt (probably with bias, however) was the best pilot of the three. "Deploy Eva-02 right away. Put it close to the southeastern armories, they've got some of the better guns."

She flipped on her radio and began communication with Anita. "We're going to have to interrupt your training. An Angel has attacked."

Anita grinned. "Excellent."

"Don't get cocky," Asuka said. "We don't know what it's capable of." She switched off the radio so she wouldn't have to listen to Anita sigh. "All right, that's that done. Eva-02 will be deploying as soon as possible."

"Should we deploy Eva-00 as well?" Toji asked.

"This is right now just a simple mission. She's going to launch, get some long-range guns, and fire upon the Angel. Once it's drawn into closer range, and we have a better idea of what it's capable of, we'll launch Eva-00 and maybe Jet Alone."

Toji didn't look like he thought it was quite the best plan, but he nodded anyways. "Yes, ma'am."

Hikari put her headset on and began relaying the instructions to Anita while the Eva Cage was being drained.

Asuka used the radio to call Rei next. "Sorry to interrupt the test, Doctor," she said.

"I understand," Rei said calmly. "We'll continue working with Maya of course. Shall I tell her we don't intend to launch her?"

"That would be for the best," Asuka agreed. "This Angel doesn't seem like the other ones, though. Most of them march right into the city and start trying to do damage. Any idea why it might be holding back? If Angels have psychology, I'm sure you're the one who knows the most about it."

"I assure you I have no idea," Rei responded. "Perhaps it's just trying to get a look at the terrain?"

"Hmm… makes sense…"

"Eva-02 go for launch!" Hikari launched.

"Move out!"

A few moments later, Eva-02 reached the city streets. Asuka grinned. This would be easy. "All right, Anita," she said. "That's your target."

"What is?" Anita asked, confused.

Asuka blinked. "Wait… what? What do you mean 'What is?'"

"I don't see anything! There's just sky!"

"What?" Asuka looked at one of the pictures. The Angel was blue. Sky blue, even… If it was floating against a clear sky from Anita's angle… Shit.

"Something's happening in the Angel!" Kensuke announced, too late.

The camera recorded that two of the floating triangles came together, forming a parallelogram, and then that an immense hole opened up in them. Then the Angel fired an immense laser.

All Asuka could hear was Anita screaming.

**3444:20:10**


	42. In which desperate plans are made

**In which desperate plans are made**

_"This is a story of men fighting against their fates." - Narrator, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, by Kazuki Nakashima_

"Recall Eva-02 immediately!" Asuka ordered.

Toji hesitated at the controls for a moment, Anita's agony overwhelming all thoughts. Then he pressed the button. The screams ceased as Eva-02 was pulled back underground to safety.

"The target is now moving again," Kensuke announced uncomfortably. "Moving for the center of town."

"Status of the Second Child?" Asuka demanded.

Toji turned on his radio to the Eva Cage and repeated the question. He frowned. "Asari and Matsuda say that the armor melted over the release and they're drilling the pilot out. No information on her condition."

Asuka stared at Toji horrified for a moment, and then turned to Kensuke. "You said it's moving again? When it's in the range of any of our automated defenses, start firing immediately!" She sounded bestial, like she wanted to go kill the angel herself.

Kensuke nodded. Everyone turned to the video of the Angel. As it passed one of the automated turrets, one of the eight triangles that floated over it shifted angle slightly. As the turret fired, all shots were deflected, not back into it, but into neighboring defense turrets, which melted into unrecognizable forms, as did the buildings in the surrounding area. Several more turrets began firing simultaneously (at least ten), but despite the overwhelming firepower, coming in from all directions, each shot was deflected.

"Hmm…" Asuka stared at the Angel, trying to keep focused solely on it and not on Anita. "I… I guess we shouldn't use any airplanes, huh?" She looked down, trying to concentrate on finding a battle plan. "Range… Dammit."

"What?" Toji looked at her, concerned and confused.

"We're going to have to get more things destroyed…" Asuka explained.

"Captain!" Kensuke shouted, nervously. "Look!" He pointed at the screen, and Asuka followed the point. The Angel had stopped moving over the city, and had picked one of the largest intersections in town to float over. A few abandoned cars were nearby, left behind by the people fleeing when the alarms had gone off.

The eight floating triangles around the Angel shifted. The four upper ones moved downward, floating over the line where the two halves of the Angel met. The rest moved even further below the Angel, shifting and changing from right triangles to much more elongated ones. They combined, becoming one downward pointing arrow, and then twisted slightly, forming long spirals where the four triangles had met.

With a flash, the shape descended into the earth, spinning counterclockwise and drilling in. Everyone stared in shock.

"Uh…" Asuka gulped. "Can it penetrate the armor layers? Hikari? Toji?"

Hikari typed away at her console quickly, frowning in concentration. Then she looked up, horrified. "It can! In twelve hours, it will reach the Geofront!"

"Then we have to act quickly. Aida, find the turrets farthest away from the Angel that have a clear shot and have them fire! Suzuhara, I want one of those inflatable Evas hooked up to a train immediately! Have it run the farthest line away before making the balloon visible! Horaki, find out how much energy it's going to take to pierce that AT Field!"

Each lieutenant set to work.

**3444:05:12**

* * *

><p>Shinji and Kaworu listened patiently as Asuka outlined everything.<p>

"We've determined, with no small amount of casualties, that the safest place to mount the mission is on top of Mount Futago. Unfortunately, we require a weapon that is well beyond Nerv's power to make in the remaining time, so that's one flaw already. However, should one exist, and we route all of Japan's electrical power to Futago, we have a chance.

"We'll then be required to mount Eva-00 and Eva-01 on top of the mountain. Eva-00 will be mounted with a heat shield made out of one of the old space shuttles; I've already got the orders to fly them over, I just need you to sign them. Eva-01 will be mounted with this mystery weapon and G-Type armor and will be used as a sniper. One shot should be enough to down the Angel, if we have enough power."

"Good news, and bad news," Kaworu said. "The good news is, I've heard of just such a weapon that you'll be requiring. The JSSDF recently completed a Positron Rifle, which has the range and the power requirements that you outlined."

Asuka brightened. "That's great!" she said. "But… the bad news?"

"The G-Type armor was cancelled yesterday by Doctor Ayanami for bureaucratic reasons."

"Then we'll just have to get them constructing it again," Asuka said. "I don't care how many people we have to pull off of vacations, sick leave, or any of that, and I don't care how much overtime it's going to be, we need that armor finished tonight."

Kaworu nodded. "I'll inform the workers," he said brightly. He turned to Shinji. "If that's all right, sir?"

"Of course, but…" Shinji gulped. "Try not to pull anyone from the Eva-02 evacuation unless it's absolutely necessary, please."

Asuka flinched as if she'd been slapped. Kaworu stared at Shinji for a moment, looking as if he'd never smile again. Then he took a deep breath and kept walking.

When he left the room, Shinji turned to Asuka and sighed. "Sorry," he said. "I just meant…"

"No, I know…" Asuka gulped. "Is she okay? Does anyone know yet?"

Shinji shook his head. "The Entry Plug is more or less impenetrable from scans, and the radio equipment isn't working. LCL cools quickly though, we think she's probably unconscious."

"I hope so." Asuka looked down at her feet. "It's stupid, you know. I was so angry over the pictures, and now… I hope she's okay."

Shinji couldn't think of any way to reassure Asuka without sounding trite and false. He wanted to smile reassuringly, but the possibility of Anita's death weighed too heavily on him. She had brothers on standby, of course, but… Asuka would be horrified.

**3441:43:52**

* * *

><p>When Kaworu told Raidon to restart construction, with a deadline of eleven hours, he didn't take it well.<p>

"That's impossible! It can't be done!"

"I don't want to hear that kind of talk. It has to be done, Watanabe. Unless you want to send another pilot to get barbequed?"

"Of course not!" Raidon protested. "But Evas are huge, and we don't stand a chance of constructing this! We didn't stand a chance of getting it done today before it was cancelled. Now we've lost way too much time."

"You have authority to pull in anyone. Even if you need to pull in people from other departments to work with screwdrivers, do it. The only people who won't help you are the emergency workers who are saving…" Kaworu paused, uncomfortable and scared. "…Saving Anita."

"There's gotta be a better way to do this, though! Wait for it to penetrate the Geofront and fire up at it or something!"

"There is no other way. The Captain made a plan, we've given our approval, and now we're giving you orders. Do it, or find someone who can."

Raidon sighed. "Fine…" he muttered. "Bring in everyone, then. I mean everyone. Section 2, Section 3… We're going to need all of them."

**3441:26:12**

* * *

><p>"We apologize for interrupting our regularly scheduled programming with this emergency bulletin."<p>

Across Japan, the wires were laid. Across Honshu, emergency construction of thousands of power lines began. Every city was already connected, but the current infrastructure couldn't possibly take the links that were required.

"From 11:30 PM tonight until tomorrow morning…"

Almost nothing was exempt. Hospitals had emergency generators, as did a few other buildings, but besides them, nothing would be lit with electricity.

"…there will be a large-scale power blackout…"

All of Japan had emergency shelters, and even though several hours remained before the blackout, people were already crowding to get inside. This Angel was the first to cause fear across the entire nation. Normally the people didn't know about an attack until it was over.

The riots stopped, at least temporarily. It was amazing how fear did that.

"…throughout Japan. We appreciate your cooperation."

Trains were ripped out of the Seikan Tunnel to make room for the tens of thousands of wires and cooling systems that would run from Hokkaido to Honshu. Every bridge connecting Kyushu and Shikoku to Honshu appeared an abomination to rival the Angels, a monster of wires and fans. People in radiation suits went into Old Tokyo, turning on every generator they found.

"Repeat, a power outage begins tonight at 11:30 PM."

Anything that could be used to make more electricity was gathered up and used. Trees were cut down just to get more room on the path to Tokyo-3. An emergency meeting of the Diet was held, ultimately appropriating money to use their power too, to use the Japan-Korea Tunnel to funnel even more power into Japan.

"We appreciate your cooperation."

And while the people scurried like ants around it, the Angel continued to drill.

**3440:00:00**

* * *

><p>Maya sat in Anita's hospital room, staring at the girl. She was sedated and heavily burnt, but the doctors said that Nerv's high-tech medicine would be able to cure any damage that wouldn't heal quickly on its own.<p>

Maya didn't know why she was sitting here. Every moment here was a minute remembering how Anita had finally been pulled out of the Entry Plug, screaming in pain to start with and screaming all the more as people had gently moved her into a gurney. It sounded like being touched anywhere hurt her, that she was in too much pain to pass out.

"I can't do this," she whispered.

"Maya?"

She swung around to see the commander and the vice-commander. "Oh!" she cried. "I didn't hear you come in!"

"That's quite all right," Kaworu whispered. He wasn't looking her in the eyes, or even at her. He stared at the injured girl, transfixed in terror.

This didn't improve Maya's morale in the least.

Commander Ikari gulped. "Maya," he said again. "I'm not going to lie. This is the most dangerous mission we're going to be sending you out on."

He must have heard her. She gulped. "I… Are you sure you can't send Gendo out as the sniper? Why does it have to be me?"

"Just because Mount Futago is out of the range it will fire on while unprovoked doesn't mean it can't actually hit there," Kaworu said. "We need someone to hold up the shield."

"It's the more dangerous job," Shinji offered. "You're actually safer than him."

"I die either way!" Maya protested. "If something goes wrong…"

"We believe in you," Kaworu said. "That's not enough, but… You have to do it, because no one else can."

Maya sighed. "I was normal before this…" she muttered. "Now I've had three near-death experiences in the last month."

"Please," Shinji said. "Don't make Gendo do this by himself."

That wasn't fair, but what could she do now? "For him, I guess. It's not fair he should have to pilot alone."

"Thank you."

**3438:12:09**

* * *

><p>Midnight approached rapidly. Eva-00 and Asuka went to obtain the Positron Rifle, hundreds of Nerv employees were uprooted from their posts to work on the armors and weapons, and Maya and Gendo were walked through the scenario again and again.<p>

With fifteen minutes to go, the two children sat outside their Evangelion, looking down on the world from the mountain. The city seemed desolate and cold, and the sky blue Angel, who glowed as if the sun had never set and it was still noon, seemed more malevolent than any of the Angels that had at least been kind enough to possess faces.

Worse still was Eva-01's appearance under all the G-Type armor. It looked like a hideous wild animal that had been put in a cage that wasn't remotely capable of holding it, like at any moment the bars would break and Eva-01 would rush into the darkness.

"Why do you pilot?" Maya asked uncertainly. She didn't believe that the commander would have them all pilot for the same reason as her.

Gendo hesitated for a moment. "I have a bond," he said finally. "I didn't know about it until it was too late, but I have to keep honoring it."

"A bond with whom?" she asked.

"Everything alive."

Oh. Religious reasons. Maya couldn't believe that Gendo was Shinto or anything like that, but it was the only sensible way of interpreting his comments.

"I'm not looking forward to this," she admitted.

"You're protected," Gendo responded. Maya couldn't believe anyone could be so calm about the fact that they were ultimately cannon fodder. Gendo stood up. "It is time to go," he said.

"Good luck."

"Goodbye."

**3432:05:21**


	43. In which the Evas talk

**In which the Evas talk**

_"What can go wrong?" - Far too many people_

Gendo and Maya both got into the Evas and guided them to the designated areas. Gendo stood in front of the Rifle, currently low on the ground to avoid the shot, but ready to spring up with the heat shield and protect Maya. Eva-01 was slotted into an immense machine that held it and the Positron Rifle in place. Some of the restraints were a little too tight and Maya cried out a little in pain.

She tried not to think about the fact that if something went wrong, the pain she'd feel would end up being much greater.

"All you have to do," Doctor Ayanami had explained, "is wait for the G-Type armor to inform you that it's lined up a shot, and take it. That's all that should be required."

One minute before midnight, the shot was lined up. Maya fired.

And began screaming in pain. Something had gone wrong with the G-Type armor. The gun had jumped as it had been fired, or something, pulling her hand upward with it, and her elbow. They'd been ripped against the restraints holding Eva-01 back from the recoil.

At least it wasn't-

No, the flash of light made it clear that the Angel had fired back. She shut her eyes tight, but the light still burned through the lids. The heat was nowhere near enough to be damaging beyond the moment, which meant that Gendo had saved her. Was he okay? She wouldn't be able to see him.

**3432:00:00**

* * *

><p>Gendo waited patiently. It was obvious that he should have been picked for this job, that he should be the one firing the stupid gun and killing the Angel. Maya tried, sometimes, but she was also highly incompetent. She couldn't even say why she piloted.<p>

He looked around his Entry Plug. There was nothing of interest in here. The Plug felt like home, of course, but it was still just a metal cage meant to take the brunt of the kinetic energy that an Evangelion might be dealt. He wished he was inside Nerv, beside Doctor Ayanami.

But his bond required something different. He would rather honor his bond than be in anyone's presence, even Doctor Ayanami's. And, of course, the Angels all needed to be killed as soon as possible. The remaining nineteen were all threats.

Gendo wished there was a clock so he'd know what time it was. Doctor Ayanami had disabled the visual indicator to keep him on edge. She knew he frequently lost track of how many minutes had passed, but this wait was too much, even for him.

After an eternity of waiting, he was sent a simple radio message from Captain Soryu. "Five minutes and counting." He sighed in relief and leaned back. In five minutes, the situation would hopefully be over. He desperately wanted to believe that not even Maya could screw this one up.

At what he assumed was 11:59, Eva-01 fired at the Angel. The heat from the anti-matter reactions was astounding. Eva-00 didn't like the sensation at all. Gendo enjoyed it, however, perhaps because the LCL was slowly cooling as the life support system continued to run. Even at full power, LCL recycling had diminishing returns.

Gendo's display revealed that the Angel had not been destroyed and was at that very moment charging up to return fire. He quickly pulled Eva-00 into a standing position and threw up the shield. A few seconds later, the heat of the Angel's laser was upon him. Gendo cried out, the heat was simply too much.

Several displays around him shorted out. Gendo was now completely cut off from the outside world. He realized he wouldn't even be able to tell when the Angel's attack was over, because the heat would linger for far longer than the attack. He and Eva-00 would simply be standing there, in the way of the gun with nothing but a melted shield, until the second attack came.

Then they'd die.

'No,' a voice answered. 'We won't die.'

The Entry Plug rocked suddenly, as if Eva-00 had made a sharp turn. Gendo, unbracing, was thrown against the metal seat and passed out.

At least there wasn't any more pain.

**3431:59:00**

* * *

><p>Finally, Maya opened her eyes. The telescopic vision of Eva-01 showed the Angel, revealing that much of it had been melted away, and a red core was visible in what had been the center. All eight triangles (the four lower ones had apparently finished drilling) were moving into a new position, ready to deflect the next shot.<p>

"Come on…" Maya whispered. "Hurry up and line up the shot… Please!"

There were four triangles on either side of the core. They'd merged together and were slowly closing in to protect the core.

"Come on!"

Maya was vaguely aware of the fact that those words hadn't come from her, or from the people over the radio.

Another fifteen seconds and it would be too late to fire and get through the small hole remaining.

"Hurry!"

Finally, the gun lined itself up, ready to fire. Maya pulled the trigger, ignoring the pain as her hand and elbow were again bent into a position they weren't supposed to be in. No, not her hand. Eva-01's hand. Eva-01's! Not her!

'No,' a voice responded in her head. 'Our hand.'

Maya shook her head, no longer even paying attention to the progression of the second strike. Just as well. She would have seen it nearly standing still.

"…Who said that?" she finally managed. Had she just misheard something over the radio?

"I did," the voice answered coolly. It was female and familiar, but Maya could not place more to it than that. "You're scared?"

Maya nodded. "Of the Angels," she admitted. "And failing to stop them."

"And me."

Maya gulped. "This… this is just… stress and lack of sleep. That's all."

"Incorrect, not that it matters. You probably have other things to worry about. Either way though, I promise you darling, I'm quite real."

"Darling? Who are you?"

"Eva-01. I'm protecting you."

Maya shook her head again. "No, I'm definitely losing it," she muttered. "If you could talk, why haven't you done so before?"

"I have. You were just too awake to hear me."

"See? Sleep deprivation!"

"Which causes a minimal but noticeable increase in synch ratio. I know my own workings, dear."

"Shut up!" Maya responded, turning her attention back to the displays. "This is important!"

Time sped up.

The Angel's four triangles clamped firmly into position. The laser beam reflected off of them harmlessly and shot into space.

It was then that Maya realized that Eva-00 was nowhere to be found. The Angel began charging another shot.

**3431:58:00**

* * *

><p>"No."<p>

Operation Yashima had failed. Eva-00 had gone berserk and had fled behind the mountains, showing no signs of stopping. Eva-01 had failed twice to penetrate the target. The cannon was out of ammo, the shield was destroyed anyways.

"Pull Eva-01 under the surface," Asuka instructed. "Us too."

The emergency retreat signals turned on all over the base. She and the rest of the Nerv staff were pulled down to the Geofront, as was Eva-01. A minute after everything was safely underground the Angel's strike destroyed all equipment, and half the mountain.

Asuka looked down at her feet. "What now?" she asked.

"The Angel has penetrated the Geofront completely and will soon be able to descend into the lower regions. We are uncertain of its plans after that. It may attempt to simply destroy the Geofront, or it will continue drilling."

"Drilling? Why?"

Rei glared. "Because most of the Geofront is under the "surface" we dug out for it. Including a lot of the sensitive material. Isn't that obvious?"

Asuka sighed. "Right. So… what now?"

Rei looked firmly ahead, refusing to make eye contact with her friend. "Now we implement Plan Omega… and if that fails, the Geofront is already set to blow up if the angel penetrates its lower levels. That should be enough."

"So we'll die, but humanity will survive."

"Perhaps."

**3431:45:00**


	44. In which a crucifix is unveiled

**In which a crucifix is unveiled**

_"The room and the surrounding area are to be sealed, with ventilation shafts, plumbing, and wiring checked daily. Measures are to be put into place for the continuous extermination of all vermin in the facility. Animals not part of the study found... are to be removed and terminated as soon as possible due to risk of biological contamination. Because of this, in the morning, workers must wear Hazmat suits while entering the cell..." - SCP Foundation_

The Evangelions were not, as advertised, the only line of defense against the Angels. The Geofront contained an estimated sixty-two last ditch lines of defense, each calibrated for a particular type of attack. The attack method of the seventh Angel, Ramiel, was not one of them. The Magi, however, had no problem adapting.

Shinji and Kaworu, the only ranking senior officers still on site, were managing the project. They had only one particular advantage at that particular moment: the likelihood that the Angel's defense perimeter would be heavily altered as it was forced into the smaller area.

"So, we won't be able to keep it out of the pyramid for very long," Kaworu noted. "So we'll have to expect that it'll be running through the corridors as soon as it transfers in."

Shinji nodded. "The AT Field destabilizers are prepared?"

"Of course. But they won't make a huge difference. The Angel's defenses are so powerful that they won't be affected by most of the turrets."

"Right…" Shinji briefly opened a new window that displayed the Angel. It was currently shifting form, turning into a long cylinder that could penetrate the hole it had dug out. "And the status of the Evangelion units?"

"Eva-01 is ready, though its pilot is cautious and has unusual readings. Eva-02 and its pilot remain completely unusable. Eva-00 remains berserk, despite all efforts to shut it down. It is currently operating without power."

"Wonderful. So can we depend on any of them?"

"Eva-00 has taken one of the elevators. They turned back on after the power converters were destroyed. Its actions in the Geofront might cause it to attack the Angel if they cross paths. Maya might be successful, but she's pretty stressed," Kaworu noted.

"Wait… actions?"

**3431:30:00**

* * *

><p>Eva-00 was ultimately a killing machine. It had been designed to kill Angels. Now, it was defying the laws of physics and rampaging through the corridors of Nerv.<p>

"This is insane," Gendo whispered. He'd awoken, only to find himself completely imprisoned inside the Entry Plug. No controls were responding.

Neither was the Eva. It said nothing. This annoyed Gendo to no end.

"You can't just take control and not say anything," he said, slightly louder. When this too failed, he shouted (or, at least, spoke much louder than his usual soft volume), "At least show me where we are!"

This, Eva-00 did.

Gendo swore when he saw the corridor before him. The metallic walkway had been severely damaged, and all damage seemed to have been caused by two overly large hands.

"Not good…"

**3431:29:28**

* * *

><p>At twelve thirty-five, the first protrusions of the Seventh Angel reached into the Geofront. The being had not, as the Magi predicted, permanently transformed into a cylinder, but had instead become a strange blue, floating liquid, probing gently with tentacles to ensure its own safety.<p>

"Its AT Field has been significantly weakened by the lack of a well-defined form," Toji announced. "We should fire as soon as the main body has entered the Geofront!"

Asuka nodded. "Do we have any planes left?" she asked Kensuke. "We could have anything remaining circle over the tunnel and drop missiles."

Kensuke nodded and began issuing orders to the rest of Tokyo-3's air defense.

The Seventh Angel fully entered the Geofront and floated down to the pyramid slowly. Once it had covered half the distance, turrets and other forms of automated defense rose out of dozens of surfaces and began firing.

Almost immediately the Angel began to recoil, but above it, dozens more turrets were revealed to be hidden in the top of the dome of the Geofront, and fired as well. Left with few options, and its advanced senses leading the Angel to realize that airplanes were assembling above the dome, the Seventh Angel fled downward into the pit beside the Geofront pyramid.

Shinji swore under his breath. "Dammit!"

"What?" Asuka asked. "We have it contained in the Geofront now. Eva-00 and Eva-01 will be able to handle it. Eva-01 is already waiting along the Angel's new projected path."

Shinji opened his mouth. He closed it again. "Come with me," he said after a moment. "I can't believe… Come on."

He walked to an elevator quickly, and when he arrived, gestured for Asuka, who had followed hesitantly, to hurry up. When they both stood on the pad, it descended out of sight.

**3431:22:18**

* * *

><p>"Are you ready, darling?"<p>

"I don't need this right now," Maya muttered. She (no! not her! Eva-01!) was holding two large guns and several more were scattered around her. "The Angel is coming!"

"I know."

"Right… you're probably just some messed-up part of my subconscious…" Maya sighed. She would probably have to visit a shrink after this.

"It's coming."

"I know!" Of course she knew! She was looking right at the screen that told her. She wasn't going crazy. She was just too tired. And scared.

And lonely.

The Seventh Angel appeared. Maya began firing the gun as soon as she saw it. She wasn't going to die here, not like this. She refused!

**3431:20:00**

* * *

><p>"Return to the Evangelion Cage and let me go."<p>

"Return to the Evangelion Cage and let me go," Eva-00 replied, almost perfectly matching pitch except for a strange emphasis on "me."

"I can't! I don't control this thing."

"Do you control anything, really? Besides… I gave you an order. You follow orders. Find a way to follow mine."

Gendo's eyes narrowed. "This is impossible," he whispered. "Evangelion Unit-00 should not have any power at this point. How are you still operational?"

"Something has changed in the Geofront, Gendo. Something is waking up to defend itself. The power it generates from minute to minute could fuel an entire battalion of Evangelion units. Surely you know that?"

"I… I don't know what you're talking about."

"I think you do."

**3431:20:00**

* * *

><p>The elevator reached the bottom floor. Shinji grinned slightly. "You really were uninformed. I apologize… It's time you knew what Nerv HQ was built to defend."<p>

The elevator doors opened. Asuka could read a sign that read "LCL Production Plant". Beyond it was an immense pair of doors, obviously sealed completely. Shinji ran a card through a scanner. The doors opened, as did the doors behind them, and the doors behind them, and the doors behind them.

Asuka gasped at what she saw in front of her.

"An Angel?"

"No, not quite. Something very much like one, however."

"What is it?" she asked.

"It is the progenitor of mankind, a being of unimaginable power, beyond that of the Angels. The Angels seek it out. If one makes contact…" Shinji gulped. "If one makes contact, we all die."

"But… can't it… resist?" Even as she asked, Asuka knew that the beast would not be able to resist. It was roughly humanoid, but instead of two proportionate legs it had thousands of tiny ones, extending from its body in a grotesque mockery of feet. It was held against an immense crucifix by nothing more complex than two nails.

Something had happened to it, and now it was defenseless.

"If it gets down here," Shinji repeated. "We die. So we have to stop the Angel. And we must never risk allowing another one in here. If another one gets in…"

"We'll probably die," Asuka finished. "We're probably going to die tonight, aren't we?"

"Yes."

Asuka bowed her head. "I'm sorry."

"It's all right. It was the best plan the Magi evaluated. You couldn't have known that Yashima would fail us."

"Now what?"

"I don't know."

**3431:20:00**

* * *

><p>"Shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up!" Maya yelled as she fired. "I'm done listening to you! Leave me alone!"<p>

"And leave you defenseless against this beast?"

The Angel was striking at Eva-01 with tentacles, but between Maya's terror and the shapeshifting of the Angel, it was now Maya's AT Field that held strong.

"I'm not defenseless! I don't need you here! Stop talking to me!"

Perhaps the voice was about to answer. Perhaps it wasn't. But it didn't answer when Eva-00 came charging down the corridor.

**3431:18:00**

* * *

><p>Gendo watched the fight scene as Eva-00 ran past. As he departed, he saw that Eva-01's arms were now hanging limply at their sides. "Her synch ratio is dropping."<p>

"Fascinating." Eva-00 made no effort to turn around and join the fight.

This irritated Gendo. "You're an Evangelion! Aren't you going to help her?"

"You don't care enough to help her," Eva-00 responded. "Why should I?"

"But she's fighting an Angel. We have to kill it."

"There's still time. Let it kill her first. Then it will be tired, and we will have the advantage."

Gendo shook his head. "That's wrong. Doctor Ayanami wouldn't approve."

"But you would."

Eva-00 ran on.

**3431:17:00**

* * *

><p>Anita's body was carefully placed in Eva-02.<p>

A chemical was dispensed, slowly rousing her from sleep.

Evangelion Unit 02, melted beyond recognition, was coldly turned on.

And there were screams.

**3431:15:00**


	45. In which Eva00 falls

**In which Eva-00 falls**

"_We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey."_ - Kenji Miyazawa

Screams echoed throughout the halls of Nerv as Eva-02 began its mad race. Maybe Anita was aware of what she was doing and pushing it forward. Maybe, like the other two Evangelions, it was operating under its own power. It didn't really matter; nor did the walls and floor that kept getting in the Evangelion's way. All that mattered was catching up to the Angel.

Except of course, that was a difficult task. The Angel's depth was uncertain, and regardless of who was in control of the movements of the titanic red robot, there was no easy way to pinpoint its location, even if they were on the correct floor. All Anita (or her robot) could do was dig. The beast simply descended almost to the bottom level of Nerv. There, it would wait.

And, since Maya was forced to flee from battle, and Gendo was completely unable to change the relative speed of his Evangelion, it did not have to wait very long. The blue Angel tore through the ceiling and lunged downward. Its form was still insubstantial, more of a gel or a liquid than anything else, but that didn't stop Eva-02 from grabbing at it, and strangely, successfully pulling it towards the robot.

The Angel screamed, but Eva-02 did not react, simply taking one part of the Angel in both hands and tearing it apart, as if it were flesh. This produced no tangible results, as the material of the Angel simply stretched instead of ripping. The Evangelion paused in a moment, perhaps confusion, perhaps simply considering the next mode of attack. But of course, a moment was far too much time to give away.

In that moment, the edges of the Angel seemed to bubble, and then they pushed out, over Eva-02's head and back down, pulling the Eva into the body of the Angel. Eva-02 struggled heavily, but made no headway. Slowly, it disappeared under the blue sheen of the seventh Angel.

**3431:02:18**

* * *

><p>"Do we really need weapons, dear?" the voice asked as Maya jumped through another hole the seventh Angel had left behind. "Surely our physical strength will suffice?"<p>

Maya rolled her eyes after they hit the floor below them. Hanging uncertainly from Eva-01's back were several guns she had detoured to obtain from an armory, at the instructions of Toji. He seemed to be the only worker still using the radio. Maya hoped everyone else was all right, but she had no time to worry about that at the moment.

"Right," she muttered, "because just fighting an Angel head on is going to work so well..." She then wished she just hadn't acknowledged the voice. She made a mental note to talk to Kotonoha about this after the fight. It had to be contamination of some sort from the Angel.

"Wrong again, dear."

She didn't say anything that time. She just pushed Eva-01 through the next hole. "I have to be getting down to the bottom of this facility sooner or later," she muttered. "There's only so many floors." Another jump. "And Gendo's next to usel-" She paused as the sound of screaming became audible. "Anita?"

Instead of carefully proceeding down the floors, one by one, she simply leapt down and descended five in a matter of seconds, and then another five. The next hole left by the Angel was the last. Maya looked down and saw the struggling shape of the seventh Angel. Of course. She lifted two guns, and prepared to fire, stopped only by the fact that as soon as she did so, the Angel immediately reshaped itself.

Now, instead of holding Eva-02 within, it was supported by the Angel, constrained by tentacles the alien had formed, but now an effective shield, one which no amount of AT Field use could penetrate. Maya swore softly. This wasn't working at all. She leapt down, using Eva-02 as a stepping stone to bounce further away from the Angel, then swung around.

She was too slow, and the Angel had quickly moved Eva-02 to protect itself from her new position. On the other hand, she realized, it had not moved at all besides this. As long as she could keep it occupied, it was possible something could happen to change their fortunes. It just couldn't reach the bottom level.

Uncertainly, she charged again.

**3430:50:52**

* * *

><p>Gendo was no longer even trying to redirect the Evangelion. It seemed an exercise in futility. He simply sat and watched as Eva-00 charged haphazardly through the corridors, frequently tearing them up. It didn't even seem to care about where it was going; it frequently just fell through holes, jolting Gendo every time. The holes in the facility after a certain point just went straight down, and Eva-00 fell at least three each before managing to grab hold of something and pull itself up.<p>

He briefly wondered how Maya and Anita were doing. He'd briefly heard Anita screaming, but that could just as easily have been the start-up sequence as it was her actually getting hurt. It was impossible to tell.

"Is there a point to all of this?" he asked. "Or are you just running around like an idiot?" Gendo wondered for a moment if there was any point in even talking to this thing. He could be better off just ignoring it like he ignored everyone else. But that was more difficult than usual. The behavior of the beast was drawing him out, somehow.

The beast didn't answer right away, falling down another couple of floors first. Then it said, still hanging from the ledge,"I am doing what you want to do. Isn't that obvious?"

Gendo stared at the wreckage around him in shock. "This isn't what I want at all," he said coolly. "I want to defeat the Angel and to sleep. In that order," he added, just in case. "Stop berserking. We don't have time for it."

The robot stopped. Gendo reached out for the controls tenatively, pulling them backwards to raise the Eva's hand experimentally. It responded, but Gendo realized suddenly, as he became fully synched with the Evangelion once again, that this hand had been the only thing holding onto the ledge.

Eva-00 plummeted.

**3430:48:22**

* * *

><p>But Eva-00's fall did not resolve the fight, nor did it provide any note of interest at all. The seventh Angel, aware of the suddenly incoming body, pushed Eva-02 above itself and sent Eva-00 flying in a different direction. It then quickly lowered the robot, blocking Maya's shots before they could get close enough to do any damage. Anita screamed in pain both times.<p>

Gendo slowly pushed himself upward, staring at the Angel, but not doing anything. After a few moments, he radioed Maya. "I would suggest you throw me a gun, but I suspect the Angel would simply tear Eva-02 in half and use both pieces as shields from us."

Maya gulped in horror. "Okay, I won't... do that..." she muttered. "But..." She didn't have a chance to finish that sentence, as Eva-00 broke into a mad dash and charged the Angel. It collided with Eva-02 and only barely managed to pull back away from the tentacles of the seventh Angel.

"Sorry," he whispered. "The Eva is a little... weird, right now."

Maya frowned. "Do you hear... voices?" Gendo didn't answer, but he didn't need to. "We'll figure that out later," she said simply. "Right now, I have a plan... Can you charge again, please?"

Another non-answer. Eva-00 charged at the Angel, and the tentacles slowly became wrapped up within the Eva. Maya fired quickly, aiming at the exposed side of the Angel. The shots blasted away pieces of the gelatinous Angel easily, and they melted on the ground. To Maya's horror, however, the Angel did not release Eva-00 in pain but tightened.

Gendo said softly, "It's in the Plug, Maya."

Maya started firing and kept firing, even as Anita and Gendo called out in pain, even as the Angel finally advanced towards her and began pulling on her arms and legs, trying to rip them to pieces. The core was all that mattered. If she could just find it, the battle would all be over.

Eva-01's leg snapped briefly, and the entry plug was turning an unusual shade of blue, but Maya barely even noticed. She saw a single glint of red, and fired one last time.

The blue form of the Angel melted away, and all three Evas were released. Inside the entry plugs, blue gel melted slowly into the LCL, and one by one, the children passed out.

**3430:22:15**

* * *

><p>Kaworu entered Shinji's office hesitantly.<p>

Shinji looked up at him, tired. "Why did you want to have a meeting, Vice-Commander?" he asks. "Couldn't it have waited until the morning? We're all pretty tired at this point."

"I think it's better to do this now," Kaworu whispered. "No one pays attention to activities at this hour." He took a deep breath. "What happened to Anita… It was horrible. No one should have to go through that."

"I'm aware," Shinji said. "I don't want to sound cold, but I'm exhausted."

"The point is," Kaworu said. "Nerv needs forewarning… It needs to know what it's up against, because I don't want this to happen again. No one does. We don't want anyone to have to suffer just to save mankind."

Shinji didn't say anything in response. Kaworu fiddled with something in his pocket for a moment, before pulling out a jump drive.

"I brought this," he said. "It's not the real deal, but the photographs and annotations will suffice… These will say what the Angels are. All eighteen that are left." He tossed it onto Shinji's desk.

The commander stared in shock. "You're actually giving these up? I thought…"

"Seele is about helping people, about saving them from pain. It would be wrong not to do this, when you consider what we're up against. Read it, Commander. You won't like what you see; you won't like the inevitability, but… At least it will help us protect ourselves." Kaworu shuddered.

Shinji nodded in appreciation. "Thank you," he said calmly. He frowned. "Eighteen left, you say?"

"Exactly eighteen, if you include the First Angel." Kaworu smiled kindly. "Despite tonight's... chaos... I think we still have a chance. The Seventh Angel was meant to be a dangerous one. I understand that some of the others are less so, for what it's worth."

The commander chuckled. "You do realize that even the weakest of the set so far has managed to cause damage?" He stopped abruptly, realizing the implications. "Well, I mean..."

"Yes," Kaworu said. "I understand what you mean." The suffering of all three children kept running through his mind. Contamination was a terrible thing, and difficult to remove.

**3429:55:18**


	46. In which Maya dreams in red

**In which Maya dreams in red**

_"There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to Man. It is a dimension as vast as space, and as timeless as infinity. It is the middleground between light and shadow, between science and superstition; and it lies between the pit of Man's fears, and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call... the Twilight Zone."_

Red.

Red everywhere.

No earth, no sky, no horizon. No air, no sound, no shapes, no shadows. Just red.

Red and the consciousness observing the red.

Then the world burst to life. A railway ran through an infinite plane of red, and the consciousness was on the only train.

She remembered she was Maya, and that she had a form, a human form. She blinked, which was a good sign.

"I must be dreaming," she whispered to herself. She was surprised. Normally when she was this tired, she didn't dream. She also wasn't too sure if she remembered falling asleep, nor when exactly she had fallen asleep. She'd... forgotten something.

She looked around the train uncertainly. Shadows moved in the corner of her vision, but no one was there; the train was empty.

"The battle!" she whispered to herself in sudden realization. "It was about to start."

Maya pinched herself. She didn't wake up. Gulping, she added, "Maybe it's still a bit off," she decided, "and I'm taking a nap before it gets going again." That seemed reasonable.

She sighed and laid back in the seat. It was a weird and empty dream, but at least she was asleep, and there wasn't anything scary going on. Not even any Angels.

"Hello."

She looked up. In the seat across from her, Gendo had appeared. She stared at him uncertainly for a few moments before finally finding words. "Hello," she managed.

Why was she dreaming about Gendo? He wasn't very nice, and she generally didn't pay him much notice when it could be avoided. She couldn't deny he was a good pilot, of course, but a professional relationship wasn't something to dream about.

"You're forgetting things," he said, surprising her. This had to be a dream, Gendo would never talk first. She didn't think, anyway. Had he before?

"Yes," she agreed. "I'm not sure when I fell asleep. I think we're about to fight though. I want to wake up and get back into the Eva." Actually, she preferred to sleep. But duty was duty, and dream of not she didn't want Gendo to start chewing her out for not taking things seriously enough.

"Why do you pilot?"

"What?" Maya asked.

"You asked me," Gendo said. "So now I want to know why you're a pilot. Why do you stay here?"

"I…" Had she asked him? It... felt familiar, but more like a dream than a memory. Whisps of images crossed her mind, the two of them sitting in the moonlight together and talking. But it faded, like all dreams faded after waking. And what little bits she could remember didn't seem to have any time for them to happen.

"Is it because you don't want us to pilot alone? Because as soon as Eva-00 and Eva-02 are repaired, you won't be needed anymore."

Eva-00 didn't need repairs. Did it? No! It was about to be deployed with her. There couldn't be any damage for it to need repaired. No matter."But I'm needed now. Even after this Angel. What if another one attacks Tokyo-3 tomorrow?" Maya asked.

"What's the likelihood of that?" Gendo responded. "The Angels attack over the course of days, not hours. Mankind wouldn't have a chance otherwise."

"It's still possible."

"But it's not a very good reason."

"No," Maya admitted, looking away. "But I don't need a good one. I'm here to stay whether I like it or not and every time I try to come up with a good reason to leave, something ends up stopping me, so it's not like there's any point."

Gendo frowned. "Living like that doesn't do you any favors."

"You're one to talk," she muttered. "I've never seen you try to do anything with anyone. You were only at the party because you got dragged there…" She trailed off. There weren't a lot of examples to pick from when it came to criticizing his behavior. That was exactly the point.

He gave her no response.

Maya turned back to Gendo's seat.

He wasn't there. The train wasn't there. The horizon wasn't there. Red. Red everywhere. Then brown.

**00:56:18**

* * *

><p>Maya opened her eyes. The familiar ceiling of the hospital room loomed above her. As her vision blurred in and out, she almost felt like she would fall into it.<p>

"I have got to stop waking up here," she muttered. And then it occured to her she couldn't remember the fight. She pushed that out of her mind.

She sat up and looked around the room. Anita was lying on Maya's right, her burn wounds already much improved. Gendo was on the left, all of his injuries already removed. Both children seemed to be sleeping, not sedated. That was a good sign, at least.

"Maya!"

She turned to the door and saw Captain Soryu standing there, the door having just been pushed open. There were bags under her eyes. Maya wondered if Asuka had spent the whole night awake, either to be ready to come when a child woke up, or just because of an inability to fall asleep.

"Hi…"

"Good job on the last fight," Asuka said. "Though... I guess you won't really remember." She frowned. "The death of the Angel contaminated all of you. Not physically, it just left weird memories. The sort of things that drive you crazy." Realizing that Maya was looking increasingly concerned with each word, Asuka hurriedly added, "The reason you don't remember is because Rei used her medical technobabble and removed them. But we weren't sure what all was contaminated so you probably don't remember much from last night." She laughed.

Maya took a moment to think about that. Had the dream Gendo known about the fight? Was he some leftover memory of that, or the Angel itself making contact with her mind before Doctor Ayanami's procedure was finished? Maya decided on the whole that it was better not to ask. The doctor would have been thorough. "Thanks," she said. "Um, how is everyone's Eva?" she asked.

Asuka nodded, and took a moment to look at each of the other pilots. "Their Evas were both heavily damaged. Nerv-01 and Nerv-03 are sending us some armor, but neither Evangelion is going to be quite the same." She saw the look on Maya's face and quickly corrected herself. "The piloting quality won't be affected, but each Eva is going to have a new paint job now. I don't know how much Anita will like that. Or Gendo, for that matter."

"Well, at least they'll be okay and nothing was permanently damaged…" Maya wasn't sure where to go from there.

"Yeah." Asuka hesitated for a minute, and then asked, "Is there anything you need?"

"I'm kind of thirsty," Maya said.

"Hang on, I'll go get us something." Asuka left the room, and returned a few minutes later with four canned drinks. She put two to the side, handed one to Maya, and popped the other one open herself.

Maya took a long drink from the lemonade. It tasted stale, but she was too thirsty to care. The air in the Geofront, especially its hospital, was always dry.

"So what are the new paint jobs going to be like?" Maya asked. She took another quick look at both pilots. Both were still asleep. Maybe it was still night. It was impossible to tell when she was down here; the Geofront had artificial lighting on occasionally.

"Eva-00 will be getting some blue armor that was originally intended for Eva-05. Eva-02 is getting green armor from Eva-03. Apparently they're going to be forced to redesign it to match Eva-04 now, just so they don't have to spend more money on parts."

Maya nodded, and then a thought hit her. "So Eva-03 was originally designed to be identical to Eva-02?"

Asuka nodded as well. "The idea was that a back-up might come in handy. All we'd have to do is switch the cores around from the damaged unit to the working one, and the pilot wouldn't be disoriented by the switch. It could have come in handy now if it weren't for the fact that Eva-03 is still missing a couple of limbs."

"Of course." Maya chuckled a little. "This place seems to have a lot of issues related to work not being finished as soon as would be convenient."

"Pretty much."

Anita began to stir, and after a minute opened her eyes. "I'm alive," Maya heard her whisper. She tried to sit up, but her arms were still somewhat burnt and she ended up screaming in pain.

Asuka stood up. "Are you okay? Do you need me to get the nurse?"

"I… I'm fine," Anita whispered. "Just… ow."

"I'm sure she can get some painkillers; I'll be right back." Asuka dashed off.

"You haven't fully recovered?" Maya swung around to see Gendo, sitting up in bed. "I woke up because of the screaming," he said.

"Sorry…" Anita whispered.

"Don't apologize," Maya said. "You couldn't help it!" She glared at Gendo.

He just stared back.

For a moment, she was about to call him out again on his statement about ways to live, before she remembered it had only been a dream. She opted instead to say nothing and focused intently on the nurse who arrived and gave Anita painkillers.

Hopefully she wouldn't be stuck with Gendo long.

**3423:11:24**


	47. In which prophecies are useless

**In which prophecies are useless**

"_The art of prophecy is very difficult, especially with respect to the future" _- Not Mark Twain, but certainly somebody

Toji sighed. The day after an Angel battle was always the worst. So many things to worry about… so few things that could actually be done…

"After action report," he began, reading aloud to curb the boredom. "Eva-00 and Eva-02 remain in critical conditions and will be unusable. Even if all efforts are focused on one Evangelion Unit first, there will not be a back-up for Eva-01 for at least eight days, and the complete trio will not be deployable until the twenty-seventh."

That was "great" news. To date, none of the pilots had been deployed solo successfully, the end results had always been berserk mode activating or, in Anita's case, simply being deep-fried. Worse, each Angel had been more powerful than the one before it.

And, Toji reflected, looking around the command center, that wasn't the only problem Nerv had. Much of the base had been damaged by the Angel's push into it (and the subsequent behavior of the pilots). About half the consoles in the area were completely non-functional; the wiring to them had been damaged somewhere along the line. That wasn't a huge problem, the center had multiple redundant systems and several power generators and so only a few functions had actually been lost, and all of them would be repaired first.

That left the shields of the base. They had only been penetrated in one particular spot, thankfully relatively close to the center of town, but it was inevitable that the Angels would head right to it. He personally very much doubted that Maya would be able to hold the line for the next two weeks, especially against anything more powerful than the Seventh Angel.

Toji sighed. "We're probably screwed," he said aloud.

Hikari gasped and began chiding him. "Nonsense!" she said. "We can definitely do it! We have Maya and Jet Alone, and maybe the next Angel won't be so bad! You can't be so hopeless!"

"Whatever..." Toji said, turning on one of the nearer consoles and watching it boot up. "If you care that much just ask the Magi what they think. They probably know better than either of us." The console began displaying a map of the city, woefully out of date thanks to the battle. It updated a second later, reflecting some of the damage. Someone was already redrawing the map. That seemed like a better job; at least then you wouldn't necessarily know how bad things could get.

Hikari leaned over Toji, watching the map slowly adjust. "Maybe I will," she said confidently. "They're smart girls; they'll probably agree with me!"

"If you say so." The lieutenant personally doubted that the Magi could say much of anything about the odds at this point. They were better for projects that only involved humans and Evas, like whatever Hikari was up to with them currently. She had a big project, but she never quite got around to explaining it to him. He considered asking, but decided against it. It probably would just come back to bite him in the ass if he knew about it.

**3421:55:19**

* * *

><p>"This information is practically useless," he told her, looking over the files. "The most interesting thing in here is that the Angel's names, but who really cares that the second through seventh Angels are named Kushiel, Matarael, Raziel, Shalgiel, Shamshel, and Ramiel?"<p>

Rei smirked. "An interesting theme naming," she muttered. "I noticed that myself from what little information Seele was willing to give us. Still, you're sure there's nothing else?"

"Pretty sure. The Dead Sea Scrolls are all rendered as..." Shinji hesitated. "Ideas, I guess. Possibilities. What I've got doesn't even mention the fact that their so-called First Angel wasn't even the one to attack first. It just says it's supposed to be first to hatch and strongest of them all, and that if any race gets stuck dealing with them, beating it is a good sign that they have a chance. But even that's not a guarantee."

Rei pulled a chair around from one end of the desk and set it up slightly behind Shinji. "That is strange," she remarked. "I thought these Scrolls were supposed to be genuine prophecies." She pointed to one of the files on the list, labeled "Ramiel", and asked him to open it up.

He did so, and began calmly reading the words aloud. "'Ramiel is a simple soul, attracted to mathematical forms. It avoids being seen and will take the shade of the sky around it, but will reflect the things seen through it. To find its goal, it will use the strongest forces it can muster, and it will react hostilely to anything which draws too near.'

"It's a good help for strategy," Shinji offered, "but only barely. All the other Angel descriptions are more or less like that, but since we don't know what 'strongest forces' each Angel has, or what form those will take, so that is pretty much useless. The next Angel is described somewhat similarly," he added, "but we haven't fought it yet, so what good does the information do us?"

"We won't know until it happens either way, then?" Rei asked.

Shinji bit his lip, and then said, "Yes, that is exactly what it is. The only good news in all of this is that Seele doesn't know quite so much as they'd like us to believe, especially if the Dead Sea Scrolls are all like this."

Rei raised an eyebrow. "Or," she offered, "they know much more than we think they do now because Kaworu was always supposed to give you these files and they're all fakes, just bits and pieces that will tell us enough to think we're onto Seele when really, it's just an elaborate trap."

"Thanks," Shinji said. "Just when I was starting to trust Kaworu you're giving me a good reason to hate him again."

Rei shrugged her shoulders and said nothing in response to this. She didn't say anything about hating Kaworu; that didn't seem entirely necessary. He was just a goon, no one threatening.

"Seriously," Shinji continued, "I... I dunno. I thought he actually wanted to be friends or something, last night. It was almost... okay." He paused, and as Rei had nothing else to contribute, he stumbled on. "Well, he comes on a little strong," he explained, "like he's really really desperate to be friendly. It's creepy. So... last night I guess I was thinking maybe that's all it was. Maybe he's not the worst Seele has to offer."

Rei snorted.

"You don't think so?"

Rei gave him a glare. "He's the one here," she said coolly. "That makes him the worst we'll ever have to deal with."

**2320:38:33**

* * *

><p>When it had become clear to Maya that the doctors would not be releasing her until the following morning, she had complained vehemently, but there had been nothing doing. The memories of the Angels that had been removed that day had been the first set of memories the mental ward had ever had to wipe. The technology was sound and logical and there were no risks of bizarre side effects like a chain reaction that would result in Maya losing all of her memories, but there was no guarantee it had worked properly either.<p>

Asuka had stayed for quite some time, but had left around two in the afternoon, and once that had happened and Gendo had dozed off again, Maya had started talking to Anita.

"I'm not sure it all worked," she admitted softly. "There's still this one memory I have, like a dream though, not like something that actually happened."

Anita raised an eyebrow. "A dream?" she asked. "That doesn't seem like that big a deal, Maya... You probably just remember a couple parts of the fight that they didn't quite get out; things about the Angel. You don't remember it..." she thought for a moment, trying to remember Asuka's explanations, "...it entering the Entry Plugs, right?"

"No!" Maya said. "It really was just a dream, but... a weird one." She slowly related all of the details to Anita, about Gendo and the things he had said to her about piloting, and how apparently she'd asked him the same questions. That must have happened in the forgotten interval.

"Weird..." Anita said again. "I don't really know a lot about dreams," she said. "I don't have a lot and I don't talk to many people who do." She hesitated for a little bit, but picked up, "Still," she explained, "I don't think your dream is really all that worrying. You just remember a little bit of something you shouldn't."

Maya looked at her fellow pilot closely, and saw that perhaps she wasn't being very honest at all. "Are you sure?" she asked. "Do you think, maybe... Maybe I should tell someone?"

Anita giggled. "If you want to tell people you're dreaming about Gendo..." she said teasingly.

"Oh shut up." That alone though, made Maya all the more convinced that it wasn't a big deal. If she started remembering other things, she told herself, then she would worry about the dream. Until then, it was just a minor little glitch in an organization that seemed to produce new glitches every day.

She sat back, and forgot about the entire thing.

**3417:42:25**


	48. In which Asuka meets with two

**In which Asuka meets with two**

"_The assumption that seeing is believing makes us susceptible to visual deceptions"_ - Kathleen Hall Jamieson

Asuka had not especially wanted to leave the children, but the nurses had shooed her away, saying that all three of them were going to need a bit of rest. Outside the room, Asuka asked the nurse how exactly the memory removal procedure worked. "I just don't quite understand it," she explained.

The nurse brushed her off. "It's pretty complicated," she said, but not looking Asuka in the eyes. "It involves a lot of cutting edge science and even so... I don't quite understand all the theory behind it, I just followed the head doctor's orders."

"And the head doctor is Rei, right? Uh, Doctor Ayanami?"

The nurse nodded. "She could probably explain it all a lot better than I can, but I can say it involves messing with the way the brain moves short term memories into the long term." She frowned. "But the exact things we do..." The nurse trailed off.

Asuka rolled her eyes to herself. This woman clearly didn't want to tell her something, and was hiding it in the least competent way possible. "Thank you," she said insincerely, and left, heading straight to Rei's office, intending to find out from her friend exactly what was going on with all of these things.

Except, Rei wasn't at her office. Kaworu was, knocking on the door, looking somewhat frustrated. He turned as Asuka approached. "Oh, hello!" he said. "Have you seen the doctor?"

Asuka shook her head. "Sorry," she said. "I actually came by here to talk with her myself. The nurses in the hospital are being a little bit weird about the procedure they used on the kids. Well, I mean they're not saying anything about what they did, even when I asked exactly how it worked."

"Huh." Kaworu said. "Well, I think maybe I have an explanation, though I don't see why anyone would be nervous about talking about it. Since the doctor doesn't seem to be here, shall we head up to my office? I'll explain on the way."

"Sure," Asuka said, and began walking alongside him.

He smiled broadly and launched into an explanation. "From what I understand, all we did was produce the effects of anterograde amnesia." At Asuka's confused look, he clarified, "That is, the inability to make new memories. There's a few chemicals that can do the work, so we just used them on the children, in doses that were designed to remove as much of the corrupting influence as possible."

"Yes, but you made them forget a couple of hours. Can chemicals really make all that happen?" Asuka frowned.

Kaworu just kept grinning. "Science," he explained, "is capable of some pretty weird things, wouldn't you say?" He stopped at the door to his office. "Would you like to come in for a quick drink, Captain? Not alcoholic, or anything. Just, I understand you've been with the children all day. It might be a good idea to unwind."

The captain hesitated. "I also haven't done any work all day," she said uncertainly. "Surely I should get a little bit of something done, don't you think?"

"There'll be time for that later," Kaworu replied. "You still have a couple hours of a shift today and there's not a whole lot for you to do. The Angel is beaten, if another one shows up we're doomed, and there's nothing left to do but for people to try to figure out how to pick up all the pieces we've got to work with and hope we can pull something together for when the next Angel hits the city."

Asuka smiled. "Well, okay," she said, and followed Kaworu into his office. He poured something with a fruity flavor Asuka didn't quite recognize, nor was she entirely fond of it. "Mmmm," she 'said'. It was a nice, non-commital sound.

"So," Kaworu said. "Five Angels have been defeated under your watch, Captain." He grinned. "How does that feel?"

She chuckled. "It's just nice," she responded. "And I'm glad we can trust the kids as much as we do. But honestly I don't really have a big sense of pride in it since we don't know how many there are. It's no good getting worked up about defeating a set of Angels when for all we know they're only one percent of the total force that we're going to be fighting."

His turn to laugh. "Fair enough," he said, with a tone in his voice which suggested that he knew a little bit better about the number of Angels. Asuka decided to simply ignore that hint. She didn't want to know. And it didn't matter anyway, if they couldn't count on the children right now to pilot.

They talked a little more, but Kaworu never brought up anything that they could really work with, and Asuka just kept wondering how much he really knew.

**3416:21:56**

* * *

><p>The rain pounding the city streets frustrated Asuka when she first set out. The morning hadn't had a cloud in the sky, so she had not bothered bringing an umbrella to Nerv with her, or a rain coat. Though she'd picked the nearest Nerv exit to her apartment, she still had quite a walk to contend with. When she reached her apartment, she was completely soaked.<p>

"Ugh," she muttered under her breath. It was a pretty mundane problem, and Asuka knew that a little rain was hardly a problem, not compared to everything that had happened in the early morning, but she'd never been very good at not blowing things out of proportion. "Stupid rain." She unlocked the door to her apartment and started walking inside when someone called out.

"Captain!" It was Kaito, and Asuka turned almost instantly. "Captain, hey!" He rushed towards her, even though she wasn't moving into her apartment any longer. "I was wondering..." He slowed as he drew beside her. "Maybe we could talk for a bit?" He sounded a little odd as he said that.

Asuka looked at him curiously, but then nodded and stepped inside, holding the door open for him. "Is this an official visit?" she asked uncertainly. "Or a social one?"

Kaito hesitated, and then answered, "Maybe a little of both." He followed her inside, and was led to the couch in the living room, where he sat. Asuka sat in a chair beside the sofa, and rotated the chair a little bit to face him better. "I guess we can cover the official things first."

Asuka nodded. "And they are?"

"Well, the first thing is the hack into your personal files." He hesitated again. "You were informed, right? I asked one of the lieutenants to take care of that but she never sent me back a report on that."

"Kimie did tell me, yes," Asuka said. She rose suddenly. "Um, do you want something to drink?" Asuka moved to the kitchen and began producing a cup for herself.

"Uh... sure... Water is fine, though. I don't need anything fancy." Kaito took the drink when Asuka returned with it, and continued. "Anyway. I just wanted to let you know that we're still not having any luck on that front, but that no other files have been hacked since then, including yours. Whoever was breaking the law this way was specifically going after you."

Asuka shivered. "Of course," she muttered. "They just would be, wouldn't they?" She took a sip from her own drink, a can of beer. "But there hasn't been another hack since?"

"And," Kaito added, "there wasn't ever a hack before. The Magi are ridiculously secure computers, because of how advanced they are. The fact that they were hacked at all is actually a pretty big cause for concern. We have no leads, no clues, no suspects. It's a pretty weird case."

"Maybe they just misreported?" Asuka offered. "It was a bug of some sort? It would be pretty hard to trace a bug when you've got coding as complex as the Magi, and I know that no computers are perfect."

Kaito considered this for a moment, and then shook his head. "The Magi are perfect, Asuka. That's why we use them. The only way they can start glitching out is if some of the natural infinite loops we've built in overrun the whole thing, and if that happens we can just wipe the memory banks and start all the way over again. That's how we built all the other Magi; it's not hard."

Asuka shrugged. "Well, thanks for telling me," she said. "It's good to keep me informed." Then she smiled, and said, "So why else are you here? A social visit?" She took another drink. "It's been a long time since we hung out..." She sighed. It was like that with a lot of her friends, really. Even Rei. She really needed to get around to planning something with them, she decided. Maybe soon.

"Yeah," he said. "I just... I dunno, wanted to catch up, I guess. It's been a long time since you went off to Germany. What have you been up to?"

Hesitantly, Asuka began relating her stories. There wasn't any reason to be hesitant, except of course that really not much of interest had happened in Germany. She'd worked there, made a few friends but no one close, and had come back to Japan without much fanfare. The people back in Germany had probably forgotten about her by this point because of the fact that even with her friends she kept mostly to herself. Only back in this country had she opened up again.

Still, Kaito seemed to cling to every word.

**3414:47:12**


	49. In which kids are kids

**In which kids are kids**

_"A characteristic of the normal child is he doesn't act that way very often."_ - Author unknown.

The phone rang, and Ritsuko answered it hesitantly. It was Ryoji, which made her pretty nervous. But then, she always talked to him, so it wasn't like there was anything to be especially nervous about. He didn't really suspect a whole lot in that area. "Um, hey," she said. "What's up?"

"I uh, have some weird news," Ryoji said. "Do you remember the tabloid editor? I called him to say we couldn't send him any more photos, but he said he already had some."

Ritsuko's eyes widened. "What?" she asked. "But who could have taken them?" she asked.

"Well, in this case pretty much anyone," Ryoji pointed out. "The thing was floating over the city for a whole day. I'm sure lots of people have pictures and that's gonna make it pretty hard for them to be covering that sort of thing up. The real problem is that Nerv might not agree with us, I think. I mean, we could have just broken our word and taken more photographs, and sold them off for even more money."

"We should have," Ritsuko muttered. "How on earth would they prove that it was us in particular?" she argued.

Ryoji paused for a moment, and then responded, "Well, they probably will get on the tabloid's case at the rate things are going. Nerv probably figured that if we weren't taking photos then no one would be. Not very bright of them, really. Still... this Angel's going public."

Ritsuko looked over to her own camera, with which she'd taken a few pictures herself the previous night. Not to sell or anything foolish, just to keep the memory of each of the attacks, though really even that was unlikely. The strange octahedron had shone a perfect blue against the setting sun. "Yeah..." she agreed. "Though really I don't think that's what Nerv cared about." She remembered the media outrage about the presence of Jet Alone in the fight. That was the problem, the secrets like that.

The girl briefly considered sneaking out again every fight, just to try to document their crazy secrets. She quickly proposed the idea to Ryoji, hoping he would share her enthusiasm at the idea.

"What's the point in that?" he asked. "So Nerv had a secret robot. That's hardly the sort of secret that anyone needs to be concerned about. If they were, I dunno, enslaving people and forcing them to pilot, that would be pretty different. But there wasn't really anything wrong about what they did." He sounded, Ritsuko thought, pretty upset at the whole suggestion. "Besides, we'll just get in trouble again."

"Wouldn't it be worth it?" Ritsuko asked. "If they are keeping bigger secrets, I mean?"

Another pause on his end, and then finally, he said, "No. Not at all, I think."

Ritsuko sighed. "Come on, Ryoji! We barely got in any trouble at all! Did they even get our teacher written up for anything?" When he didn't answer after a moment, she pressed on. "Of course not! Nerv can't legally do anything anyways. There isn't even a law about civilians being required to stay in the shelters. Not yet anyway."

"But there are laws about truancy," Ryoji argued. "And they'd make those charges stick."

"Not if no one caught us!" Ritsuko insisted. "We're not going to do anything except sneak out there, take pictures, make sure nothing suspicious happens, and come back inside. We didn't get noticed before and we almost certainly won't get noticed again. I don't think any of the people who are in charge of us pay that much attention anyway. They're scared out of their minds because the big scary Angels are coming to get us." She snickered in derision at the attitudes of the security guards.

Ryoji didn't give a verbal answer, but if Ritsuko had to guess what his answer might be, the fact that he simply hung up the phone translated into a pretty strong "No." She sighed and leaned back in her chair. He had no sense of adventure, she thought. That wouldn't stop her, though. She now had plans, and they would be big ones. All of Nerv's secrets would be her own, she thought.

And hopefully, some of them would be the kind worth knowing.

**3414:32:56**

* * *

><p>"Thanks for having me over," Kyoko said to Makoto after dinner. "My folks are out on business today and it gets pretty lonely being stuck at home by myself."<p>

Makoto laughed. "No problem," he said. "My dad's pretty used to me having Shigeru over a lot, so it's not really much of a stretch for him to whip up another meal." He pointed towards the living room. "Wanna watch some TV?" he asked. "I dunno really what shows you like but hey, it could be fun."

Kyoko headed into the living room, smiling. "Yeah," she agreed. "Though honestly I think I would just like to watch the news at this point. There's been quite a lot of damage done to the city by that last Angel, and it would be good to hear that everything is going okay, you know?"

"Yeah," Makoto agreed. He grabbed the remote and switched the TV on, flipping through the channels to a news station and listening for a little while. Tokyo-3's local news, however, wasn't covering the Angel at the moment, but instead focusing on the results of Nerv's excessive power drain on the world; currently that was examining the hospitals which had not been properly equipped with generators and had lost patients as a result.

Makoto squirmed uncomfortably. "Can we watch something else, please?" he asked. When Kyoko didn't answer, he turned to her. She was staring in shock at the television, and didn't seem to have heard him. "Can we change the channel?" he asked again.

Kyoko turned to him, broken from her reverie. "Oh, yeah." She gulped. "Yeah this probably isn't the best channel to be watching right now," she agreed, stuttering over a few of her words.

Makoto quietly changed over to a channel currently featuring a game show, and sighed. "Sorry," he said. "It's just I still feel bad for Shigeru's little brother."

"Oh right!" Kyoko said, remembering. "Yeah... that's why he didn't come to the party, right? To visit the poor guy? How is he doing?"

"Well, he'll be let out of the hospital soon, I hear," Makoto said. "The injuries were pretty bad but they've mostly finished treating him up and I think they only kept him this long because it was the first Angel attack on the city. They were probably worried about relapses and things like that," he explained. "Uh, since for all we know Angel's could be radioactive or poisonous or something weird like that."

Kyoko shifted in her seat. "That's um..." Her eyes widened a little. "That's pretty unpleasant sounding, to be honest. I hope that nothing like that is real," she added. "I much prefer the Angels when the biggest problem with them is that they're huge."

She got a nod in repsonse. "Yeah. I mean, it would suck if they relaly could drive you crazy just by looking at you or something. How could we fight stuff like that?"

"We could put the Evas in blindfolds," Kyoko suggested jokingly, and giggled a bit at her own joke. Makoto had to admit, inwardly, that the idea of the giant robots being forced to wear giant blindfolds to stay safe was... Well, it was a healthy distraction from the misery that usually surrounded them.

"Yeah..." he agreed again, and tried to think of something funny to suggest as an alternative. He couldn't come up with anything, though. He decided to abandon that thought all together, and turned his attention to the game, where people were making idiots out of themselves, wearing ridiculous puffed up costumes and being led through a maze of an obstacle course by an announcer, who laughed the loudest whenever one of the contestants got abused by something in the course.

Still, it was pretty tame for a game show.

"Do you think our band is ever actually going to happen?" Kyoko asked suddenly. "Because we spend a lot of time practicing for it and almost no time doing anything."

"To be honest?" Makoto said. "We're probably not going to get anything done ever. That's just... kind of the way Ritsuko is, sometimes. We need another player besides." Remembering Kyoko's earlier protests, he asked, "Are you going to stop hanging out with us if the band falls through?"

Kyoko laughed. "Probably not," she admitted. "You guys are too weird not to hang out with."

**3413:49:36**


End file.
